


Eclipse But Not Really

by Creepyjacobisbad



Series: Twilight Works [2]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Soulmarks, Tattoos, Vampires, Werewolves, birb, fair warning I have not seen all of Eclipse nor do I remember what i have seen, hOw i forgot to tag that is beyond me, my friend says i watched it with her? but i don't remember that, so uh prepare for shit all to be the same im sorry im trying, twilight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-12 01:36:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19218943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creepyjacobisbad/pseuds/Creepyjacobisbad
Summary: Bella has moved on from Edward, after what feels like has been far too long. She has friends, she has a job, things seem to be going pretty good for her. That is, until she discovers Victoria has made an army to kill her with. A tad extreme, in Bella's opinion. Without the support of the full Cullen family, Bella, the werewolves, and the few vampires that remain must do their best to fight off this new threat, while also dealing with interference from a familiar, sparkly face.contains swears but i'm not changing the rating





	1. Here's What's Up With Bella

In the three weeks since Bella returned from Italy, a surprising amount had changed.

First things first, the Cullen’s moved back. Not all of them; Rosalie and Emmett were doing a honeymoon thing, as they had apparently gotten married again, and had also graduated high school. She couldn’t say she was too sad about that, she’d never really been close to either of them. Alice, naturally, was coming back to Forks, as was Jasper. Bella was hesitant about Jasper, but Alice swore he’d been getting a lot better, and he clearly meant a lot to her, so Bella decided he was cool. She was happy Carlisle and Esmee were coming back, as was Charlie. Charlie had no shame in his crush for the doctor, and no one could really blame him, not even his wife.

There was another Cullen, one Bella couldn’t seem to make herself forget. He wasn’t formerly staying at the Cullen house anymore, and no one could say where he was, exactly. That troubled her. 

What also troubled her where the mysterious gifts she found randomly. A perfume bottle in the glove compartment, a pearl necklace in her sock drawer, flowers in her locker, which she was sure had been stolen from the store, and many more. Bella hated them all, and gave them away as fast as possible.

Another important thing, she’d gotten closer with the werewolves; she could even call Paul a friend without laughing. They texted too, though their conversations usually went something like this:

Rat Man: pick up yer fUcking bike its taking up to much spaxe

Bella: treat my daughter with ResPeCT

Rat Man: no fuc y

And, not to avoid the obvious, she and Jacob had also gotten closer. Jacob had been dumb excited when he realized Bella was his imprintee, and boasted it to the other wolves every chance he got.

Bella found it endearing, and was also proud that she could call Jacob her wolfy soulmate. 

They weren’t, uh, dating. Yet. Bella was still reeling from her last encounter with Edward, and wanted some more time. Not years, or probably even months, but a few weeks more. Just to make sure she had really let go. He respected that, which made things even easier, honestly.

When she first started hanging out with the wolves, she’d made fun of Sam and Emily for being the ‘parents’ of the pack. Then she’d been ‘adopted’ by them, and the jokes became too real.

Speaking of Emily, Bella had taken up working the flower shop with her. She’d been hesitant to go back, knowing she would never see Martha again. It made her sad, and guilty. But, she missed getting her hands dirty, and tending to the plants, and Emily assured her Martha would have wanted her to be there, keeping things in shape.

She worked less shifts than before, still trying to deal with her feelings, but she was going back.

Really, the only thing she was having trouble with (other than Ed-bitch) was convincing her dad to let her get her soulmark tattooed.

Charlie was against it on the grounds of her mother wouldn’t approve (he was still hurt she’d left for three days without telling him) and she’d insisted that it would be fine (she was sorry, but she couldn’t offer any explanation).

“Dad, please, this means a lot to Jacob and I.” Bella begged. “It’s an important symbol to him, to both of us. I know you’re still hurt, and I’m sorry, but this isn’t about just me. Please, dad.”

Charlie sighed, and rubbed his face. “Bella, I am not paying a dime of this tattoo, I do not want it on your face, and I want an apology dinner.”

“Deal.” Bella grinned, and hugged her father. “I really am sorry, dad. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I know, I know. I still want an explanation though.”

“Sorry, dad, private friend emergency.”

A horn honked outside.

“Oh, that’s Alice. Gotta go, see you later.” she kissed his head, grabbed her sweater, and left.

As she was leaving, she heard her father muttering to himself.

“Friend emergency? Friend emergency my ass, she only has one fucking friend, and he was obsessing over the bird the whole damn time. What the hell was she doing for three days, if it involved drugs I swear-”

She laughed and closed the door.

“Bella! Come on! I have a test today!” Alice shouted threw her open window.

Bella rolled her eyes and slid into the passenger seat.

“Alice, I have my own car. You offered to do this because you’d feel lonely otherwise.”

“I know! That doesn’t mean you get to be slow!” Alice pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road.

“Damn, and I thought you were going fast because your brother was in trouble. Now I know that’s just how you drive.”

Alice smirked. “No need to drive slow when you can’t die or get injured.”

“But I can?”

“Shit.” Alice slammed on the breaks, and Bella choked.

“That’s fine, you’ll be fine. I’ll go slow now.”

“Thanks,” Bella wheezed.

“So, have you talked to Quill yet?”

“No, was I supposed to?”

“Oops, got my times mixed up. No, you’re good.”

“Whatever supernatural force gave the ditsy chic the ability to see the future was a genius. Can’t be accused of being too powerful when you don’t remember shit.”

“Hey, I remember they have the good chicken in the caf today.” Alice pouted.

“Really? Sweet.”

Alice huffed at her. 

Bella received a text, and swallowed her retort.

Soul Bitch: you get permission from your dad??

Bella: yep, we’re good to go

Soul Bitch: :)

Soul Bitch: I’ll talk to Sam today

“I can’t wait for you to get your mark.” Alice grinned after peaking at Bella’s text. “And I love that he has a swan, and you have a black bear. It's so funny.”

“Wait, okay, story time. So, soulmarks mean different things for different partners. Sometimes it’s an animal you most resemble, or a dynamic you have with your partner, and sometimes you get what better suits your partner, like with Jacob and I. Which, uh, is bullshit, because my last name may be swan, but I am nowhere near as graceful as one. But bear makes perfect sense for Jacob, like, he’s big and soft and gives good hugs, like, you know, bear hugs, and he’s so nice, and his voice is like honey-”

“Just say you love him and go.”

Bella’s face flamed a bright red. “I don’t love him! I- we haven’t even dated yet! Shit, Alice, yeah I like him, like a shit ton, but I don’t love him.”

Alice shot her a knowing look.

“You’re getting your future visions mixed up with the present again!” her face darkened at her own words. “Not that I think I’m going to fall in love with Jacob! Though, not to say that I won’t, I just- I don’t like assuming!”

“Okay, okay, calm down.” Alice smiled mockingly. “You two are just bros. Just really good friends.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Bella pressed her hot face into the cool window.

Dumb fucking Alice, with her dumb fucking nonsense. Fucking bitch.

They pulled up to the school.

“Alright, scoot. I’ve got to get to my history class to clarify something before the test.”

Bella raised an unimpressed brow. “You? You have to ask a history teacher something? Haven’t you done this, like, a thousand times?”

Now Alice was the one blushing. “I’m not good at remembering facts! You know this! You made fun of me for it two seconds ago! Let me stumble through my class in peace!”

Bella snorted, and Alice booted her from the car.

“Mean.” she sniffed.

Alice stuck her tongue out at her, and they went to their classes.

School was probably the one area of her life that hadn’t changed much. It still sucked ass, and she was still miles behind the other kids. She’d given up any attempt to talk to her old friends, deciding they weren’t worth her time, and usually hung out with Alice during lunch. Sitting alone in class was probably the worst thing ever, but she made due.

Besides, she had friends outside of school to talk to.

Reasonable: so uh turns out Embry is a coward. Who knew, not i, but i do now

Bella snickered and hid her phone under her desk.

Bella: um we always knew he was a coward excuse you

Reasonable: shush let me talk i have important things to say

Bella: apologies continue

Reasonable: thank you

Reasonable: so my family is going to Seattle to visit my uncle, and i asked him to come but he won’t cause hes a pussy

Bella: oml he’s not still scared of your dad is he

Reasonable: :))))))))))))

Bella: i'm so sorry

Bella: your dad is literally so nice???? And has been fine with him for years?? Why is he being a coward

Reasonable: idk it dont add up sis

Bella: tell him if he doesnt go i will beat him with my mighty fists

Reasonable: lmao will do

Bella: bc this needs to end i am. Done with his noodle spine

Reasonable: preach

Bella: noodles are good for pasta only. Since he is not pasta he is not allowed to have it

Reasonable: amen

Bella: he must use the bones of his enemy like real men

Reasonable: ;’< so true

Bella: thank you, thank you

Reasonable: uwu

Bella: uwu

Quill was probably one of her favourite people. After they’d gotten over their awkward faze, they’d bonded over small things. Indie bands, antique stuff, and dumb werewolves.

Quill was the main reason Bella wanted to get her tattoo; seeing him and Embry with theirs, Quill going soft every time he saw it on his boyfriend’s back... it was cute dammit. She wanted that. 

Well, uh, not with her boyfriend, because she didn’t have one yet. But she would. Probably. And she wanted to share a soulmark with him. Because that was romantic.

And also permanent, so she really really hoped they didn’t have a falling out. Like, obviously that wasn’t the only reason, but she’d be really pissed if she ended up on a ‘tattoo regret’ site or something.

Anyways, yeah. That was Bella’s life now. Good friends, steady job, almost boyfriend she would do anything for, and minimal vampire trouble.

She gave it five days before everything went to shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: makes fun of twilight for not obeying basic vampire rules  
> Also me: makes Alice bLusH
> 
> I am a fool, that shouldn’t be possible. Just- pretend she just ate and has some blood running through her system that lets her blush, okay?


	2. Soulmarks M'dude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i rewrote this dumb thing three times???? somehow we ended up with kittens???? y'all better enjoy the random directions this story is going to go because i have no guidelines anymore

Sam got back to Jacob, and they planned to get the tattoos done that Saturday. Tattoo’s were an all day kind of thing, so it had to be done when they weren’t busy with school or work.

Bella and Jacob were ecstatic. After it was all done, they were going to have a bonfire to celebrate.

They sat in Jacob’s room before the Friday before, examining the drawings they’d done again and again, and planning where they wanted to get them put. Unlike the quileute symbol all the werewolves had on their shoulders, soulmarks could go anywhere.

Bella sat on Jacob’s bed with Willis in her lap, while he stood shirtless in the middle of the room.

“Okay, okay,” Bella hummed and rubbed Willis’s exposed stomach. “So, we’ve narrowed it down to right above our hearts, our shoulders, or on our backs”

“I think the back would be the best spot.”

“You’re just saying that because you want it to look like you have wings.”

“Yes, and what of it?”

Bella chuckled. “Well, that would give Sam a lot more space to work. I guess I’m just sad I won’t be able to see it.”

Jacob plopped down onto his bed. “Oh, yeah. I guess I can see why you wouldn’t like that.”

“But?”

He focused on the floor. “I don’t know. I guess I liked the idea that we could only see each other’s. You know, we could see how much we meant to each other, and trust that we felt the same.”

Bella gaped. “Jake, that’s so sweet.”

“Really?” he rubbed his neck.

“Really.” she smiled.

He smiled back.

Just as Bella moved to lean in, Willis squawked.

She jolted back, and Jacob coughed into his fist.

“So, uh, is everyone going to be there? At the bonfire?” Bella willed her cheeks to return to their natural colour.

“Yep, even Paul is coming. He was threatening to skip, since he’s still mad about his soulmark, but his cousin is dragging him along to show him it’s not so bad.”

“Oh? She’s coming?”

“Yeah,” Jake moved Willis over to his lap. “Ellie’s still real pissed he’s being a baby about this, so she’s hoping going to our reveal, and seeing what they look like, will finally convince him to stop caring about what his is.”

“Fuck, it better. I think he’s really starting to hurt her feelings.”

Jacob sighed. “Yeah, at this point he’s just doing it to be stubborn. I don’t see him holding out for much longer though. It’s been, what, three months now? He’s got to give in soon.”

“Good.” Bella flopped onto her back. “Will Seth and Leah be there?”

Seth and Leah were a pair of siblings that had recently turned. Seth was the youngest to turn in their generation, and the new baby of the group.

“Yeah, since they imprinted on each other, they’ll probably want to see the whole process. Maybe Seth’s enthusiasm will rub off on Paul.”

“One could only hope.”

Jacob was silent for a moment, playing with Willis’s feet.

“Everything okay, Jake?”

He took a deep breath. “I want things to go well. I want them to turn out nice, I want us to have them for the rest of our lives. I want to see yours for the rest of my life.”

Bella’s eyes widened, and her whole face softened.

“Dumby. Of course all of that is going to happen.” she sat up, and scooched over him. “You’re never going to be able to forget a single detail of mine, and I’ll never forget yours. We’re stuck together, Jacob Black.” then she kissed him on the cheek.

He melted into her, leaning against her slight frame. “You really think that?”

“Of course I do.” she said confidently. “I can’t picture my future without you.”

He smiled. “Yeah, me too.”

Bella tried to calm her heartbeat. She'd just told Jake she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and he said he wanted the same.

That was... something. 

Hopefully, something good. 

 

Bella wasn’t really sure about what she was supposed to bring to a tattoo day. She brought water, trail mix, Sam said to bring some headphones so she could listen to music, and she guessed that was it.

She left relatively early in the morning, after saying goodbye to Charlie.

“Hey, dad, I’m leaving now.” she gave him a pat on the back as she passed through the kitchen.

“Alright, Bell. I expect pictures, and I’m sure your mom will want some to.”

“I’ll send them, but my skin will probably be all red and gross.”

“That’s okay.” he stood up from his chair, and pulled her into a hug.

“I love you, Bella.”

“Love you too, dad.”

She left the house, and got into her truck.

Shit, her dad was too good to her.

She sighed, and pulled out her phone. She had a message from Jake.

Soul Bitch: so uh funny story

Soul Bitch: I uh. I got really excited about our tattoos last night, when for a lil wolfy run

Soul Bitch: and uh. I fell asleep in the woods? And I need you to come get me. With clothes.

Bella: what the fresh hell Jacob

Soul Bitch: please bella! I don’t want to be late!

Bella: how the hell do you still have your phone?

Soul Bitch: oh, i always put my phone in a lil pouch under my shirt so it stays with me when i shift. Smart, right??

Bella: yeah, so smart. Kay, make your way to Sam’s, I’ll swing by your place

Soul Bitch: no you need to come get me

Bella: why??

Soul Bitch: ……

Soul Bitch: I found some kittens.

Bella: why the fuck didn’t you start with that I’ll be right there

She started the engine and zoomed out of her driveway.

One of the perks of imprinting was, if you focused hard enough, you could always find your partner. While this did have the potential for stalking, it was mostly used to find your partner in times of need.

Rescuing kittens definitely counted as a time of need.

Jacob was deep in the woods, too deep for the truck. That didn’t matter. There were fucking kittens to help.

She grabbed a box from the back that held spare parts from when she worked on her motorcycle, Samantha, and dumped them out. Then she shoved a few old blankets into the bottom, to make a bed. Deciding that was good enough, she made her way into the trees.

It was weird, sensing Jacob from such a distance. It was like when she knew she wanted something from the kitchen; she didn’t have her path mapped out perfectly, but she knew where she was going.

She weaved around trees, stepped over roots, and slipped on rocks. Jacob should probably carry the kittens back. Her clumsy ass would kill them faster than mother nature ever could.

After a good few minutes of tripping, she heard Jacob cooing softly.

“Hey babies, hey, Mamma Bella is gonna be here real soon. Yup, I can feel her coming.” Another imprint thing. When one is tracking, the other can follow their progress. “She’s gonna be here with a nice place for you to sleep, and some pants for me, and-”

“Fuck.”

He peered around a tree. “Bella! You’re here!”

“I'm so sorry, Jake, I got distracted by the kittens. I don’t have pants for you.”

Jacob groaned. “But Bella, I’m so cold.”

“I know, I know,” she thumbed her sweat pants. “Okay, these are baggy as hell, and I’m wearing boy shorts. You can put these on.”

“Thanks.”

She slipped them off, and shuddered at the cold morning air. Shit, it better get warm soon.

She walked around the tree, and handed them to Jacob.

The kittens were sitting on his lap; three grey tabbies, with big blue eyes.

“Cuties!” Bella smiled and scooped them up.

Jacob stood, and slipped the pants on. They were a tad tight, but would do until he could get to his house.

Bella knew some people would probably be a bit… shyer about wearing so little around their friends, but Bella had honestly become numb to it by week two. Sure, it had been awkward at first, seeing him seconds after a transformation. Mind numbingly, soul crushingly awkward. But, it was inevitable. Shifts were often far too spontaneous for the guys to always have clothes on them, so she’d adjusted quickly enough.

At this point, she’d seen every wolf naked far too many times. It was just a thing now.

She delicately placed the mewling kittens in the box. They were probably a few weeks old, eyes and ears open, walking around with ease.

Fuck, they were cute.

She wrapped them up in one of the blankets, to help keep them warm, and turned back to Jake.

“Alright, let’s hope I know the way back to the car.”

“Relax, I’ll just follow your trail.”

“Oh shit, right. Damn, werewolf powers are handy as hell.”

He winked at her, and she handed him the box of kittens.

“So, how long will the tattoos take, do you think?”

Jacob tilted his head and squinted. “Uh, probably till tomorrow? Like, Sam won’t have to take as long with me, since I have a pretty high pain tolerance now, but it will still take basically all day, even if Jared helps him. With you, shit dude. Yours is smaller than mine, so it shouldn’t take as long, but with the flowers and shit, and how much pain you can take… probably all night.”

Bella groaned. “Really? I know you said it would take a few hours, but that’s for fucking ever.”

“Yeah, tattoos are a process.” he shrugged. “Will you, uh, stay with me while I’m getting mine done?”

She raised a brow. “I thought you wanted them to be surprises.”

“I do, but I don’t want to sit there alone.”

She shook her head and laughed.

“Of course I’ll stay, Jake. But you can’t get mad if I see it.”

“I won’t, promise.” he scooped up a kitten that tried to escape. “What should we do with these guys?”

“Bring them to Sams. I’m sure the guys will go nuts over them.”

Jacob chuckled. “Yeah, probably. There’s no way in hell Jared will be able to leave without bringing one home for his brother.”

“True.”

They got into her car, and drove to Jacob’s house. After he got changed, and she put her pants back on, and they said hi to Willis, they drove over to Sam’s house.

He opened the door, and frowned at the box of baby cats. Well, Sam was always frowning, that was just his default. This was an actual Sam frown.

“Is this why you were late?”

“Yeah, sorry Sam.”

He grunted.

“...love you?” Jacob smiled guilty.

Sam grunted again, and let them into the house.

“Let’s go downstairs, everything’s set up.”

“Jake, you go on ahead. I’m gonna see what I can do for these little guys.”

The teen nodded, and bit his lower lip. Before Bella knew what was happening, he had pressed their foreheads together.

Bella closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Don’t be nervous. They’re going to look great.”

He nodded. “And you want to do this, right? This is what you want? Because it’s going to hurt, Bella.”

She scoffed. “I know what I’m getting into, Jake. I promise, I really, really want this.”

“Kay.” he smiled at her, and pulled away. “See you in a bit.”

Jacob and Sam disappeared into the basement, and Bella placed the kittens on the counter.

Dumb ass werewolf.

She couldn’t fight off her grin. Jake was so fucking nice. Fuck, she cared a shit ton about him. She… maybe she.. Lov-?

“Are those kittens!” Emily charged in from the backyard, squealing with excitement.

Bella shook her head free of her thoughts. Later. She’d think about it later.

“Yeah, Jake found them in the woods. Wanna help me feed them?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also y'all can fight me about werewolf nakedness being normal after a bit because it makes sense???? they rip their clothes off when they shift, and they shift whenever. i let Jacob magically get pants last book, but no more.


	3. finally, tattoos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i decided to not stop writing until they revealed to each other, and that took awhile so sorry. also who knew tattoos took so long to do???? i still can't get over that, that is a lengthy ass process

Well, it took all of Saturday, and most of Sunday, but they were finally done.

Bella’s back was sore as hell, and Sam had tried to convince her to finish it another time, but she insisted it was fine.

Jake had stayed with her the whole time; holding her hands when it was particularly painful, feeding her bits of her trail mix when she was too tired to lift her arms, and sitting with her when she fell asleep.

Seth and Leah had stopped by a few times to see how things were going. Seth was eager to get his own, and was trying to coerce Leah into agreeing to do it soon. But she was a bit, uh, distracted by Sam and Emily.

She was Sam’s ex, and there were some obvious residual feelings.

Seth was a delight though, real joy to have around.

He’d honestly spent most of his time playing with the kittens, and convinced Leah to bring two home. Jared, as predicted, guarded one for his brother.

The others had stopped in now and then, but there really wasn’t much to watch.

Sam was very focused as he worked, and Bella was impressed at his dedication.

He was really passionate about his work; he had a whole set up in the basement. Chair, tattoo gun, drawings and references on the walls… he was clearly very serious about what he did.

Bella suggested he open up to the public, but he only blushed and looked away.

When Bella’s was finally done, Jake had had over five hours to recover, and his wolf healing made it so he was basically fine.

Bella, however, was aching and sore.

She elected to rest on a bed for a bit, and Emily escorted her upstairs.

She laid a thin sheet over Bella’s back after applying some ointment, and informed her the bonfire would be starting in a few hours.

Jacob walked into the room, and sprawled beside her.

“Hi.”

She shifted slightly so her face was pointing towards him. “Hi.”

“I’m so happy.” he whispered with a grin.

“Me too.” she smiled back, then winced. “Hurt likes a bitch, though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I’m glad I got it done.”

Jake shifted his hand, so their pinkies were linked. “You did so good.”

“I cried when he coloured.”

“Yeah, but I did too, and I have wolf powers.”

She snickered. “You had way less coloured than me, too.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Bella relaxed into her pillow. “I’m gonna sleep some more.”

“Okay. Do you want me to stay?”

She nodded, eyes closed. “Don’t want anyone sneaking up on me when I’m vulnerable.”

“Alright. See you later.”

Jacob watched as Bella’s breathing slowed, until she was fully asleep.

He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled at her calm expression.

He was so happy she was here, that she had done this.

She meant so much to him, more than anyone else in his life. 

He loved her.

He’d fallen in love with her the day she’d suggested they save Willis from the pet store, when she’d put aside her pride to ask her father for money. That was the day he imprinted on her, even though he hadn’t shifted yet. He was always a wolf, after all. It just didn’t show until later.

When he did shift, and Sam told him about what happened with Emily, he’d been crushed. The idea that there was even a possibility that he could do that to Bella had shattered him. Against every instinct in his body, he had pushed her away. For her own good.

But, she hadn’t accepted that. She cared, she wanted to know what was going on; that he was safe.

That was when he let himself think the words 'I love you'. That was when he could accept it.

Then, she’d jumped off the cliff.

Easily one of the worst days of his life. He was haunted by the idea that he could have missed her, that he might not have seen her, that she could have drowned.

Even when he got her out of the water, she hadn’t been breathing, and he was sure she’d died. Right in front of him.

He’d cried so hard, begging for her to wake up, to breathe, to not leave.

Naturally that very same day she’d left for Italy, to visit her shitty ex boyfriend. He’d taken the time to calm down, to sit down and decide what he wanted.

He wanted Bella to be happy. He wanted to protect La Push and Forks from any vampires that tried to hurt its people. He wanted to build a life here. With his fellow werewolves and, if she wanted it too, with Bella.

So, her getting the tattoo, and calling him Jake, and always being there when he needed her, it meant the world.

He loved Bella Swan. It was as simple as that.

And if she didn’t love him the same way? That was okay. No matter what, he was happy as long as he and Bella remained close.

Bella was sleeping deeply, and Jacob was starting to feel like a creepy just laying there, watching her, so he carefully slid out of the bed.

He was wearing a t-shirt, so no one could see his design. Or, at least, the finished version. Everyone had seen it at various stages, but he wanted the final reveal to be a surprise.

He slipped downstairs, and found Emily gathering ingredients for supper.

“Hey, need my help with anything?”

She shook her head. “No, but Sam might outside. Ellie and Paul are going at it again.”

“Ooo, nice!” he sprinted for the backyard.

“Jacob! Do not make things worse!”

He ignored her as he swung open the door.

Sure enough, Paul was having a screaming match with a short, muscular girl.

“I’m not having a fucking chipmunk tattooed for the world to see!”

“It’s obviously a fire demon you fucking asshole! That’s cool as shit!”

“Not when it has a fluffy fucking tail!”

“Says the bitch with an actual fluffy tail!”

“It’s not fucking fluffy!”

“Hell yeah it is!”

Jacob took a seat beside Embry.

“What’d I miss?”

“Nothing yet, though I’m pretty sure Ellie is seconds away from bashing his face in.”

“Oh, I hope so.” Quill leaned forward and grinned.

They had five five hours before supper, and spent the time playing soccer, and egging on Ellie when she and Paul periodically fought again.

Soon, Bella sleepily stumbled into the backyard, wearing one of Jacob’s shirts. All the wolves had extra clothes at Sams, for emergencies.

She gingerly sat on the grass between Jacob’s legs, and leaned back, pressing her head into his stomach.

“Fuck, are we sure he did the smaller version?”

Jacob smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. “Yep. Sorry, Bella Bella.”

She grunted. “When’s food?”

“Two more hours?” Quill guessed. “And even if it’s done before then, we still have to wait for everyone to get here.”

“Who are we waiting on?” Bella scanned the backyard.

“Well, Jared went home for a bit after he finished your tattoo to shower and change, so there’s him, and we haven’t seen Seth and Leah since yesterday, so we’re waiting on them too.”

“Are the kittens gone?”

Embry nodded. “We suspect that is the real reason for our friends absences. Jared has no shame showering here.”

“Can’t say I blame him.” she readjusted. “When we got Willis I practically lived at Jake’s house for a week.”

Quill sighed wistfully and leaned his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “We should get a pet.”

“Oh? And what would you want?”

“I dunno. Something easy. Like a king cobra.”

“How the hell is that easy?” Embry choked on his laughter.

Quill shrugged. “All you gotta do is feed it every now and then, clean its cage, watch it be cool as shit. Easy.”

“Holy shit.” Embry chuckled into Quill’s hair. “You are something else.”

“I’m surprised you’re not on board with this, Mister Raven.” Quill said in reference to the teens soulmark.

“Hey, I like stuff that’s hard on other people, not me. I’d wanna get a tarantula or something.”

Quill hummed. “Fair enough.”

The young couples marks were a bit confusing to the group. They understood why Embry got a raven, a symbol of mischief in their tribes legends, but Quill was a crow, and there… wasn’t anything in legend that made it fit him.

He’d looked it up online, and found that it meant ‘to transform and connect with the magic of life’ which, as a non-werewolf, was just absolutely hilarious.

The group liked to tease Quill about when he was going to shift, but he was adamant that he was never going to.

“I’ll die before I constantly smell of wet dog.” he always said.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud ‘I’ll make you choke on your own mcfucking tail!’

“Oop, here they go again.” Embry’s eyes lit up with amusement.

“Like hell you will!”

The boys laughed, but Bella merely hummed thoughtfully.

“He’s not shifting.”

“What?” Jacob looked down at her.

“Paul, he’s not shifting. Ellie is in his face screaming at him, he’s so pissed his veins are bulging, but he’s still very human.”

The boys went silent.

“Well, shit. You’re right.” Quill blinked slowly.

“Paul is all grown up.” Jacob stared in awe at his friend.

“Aw, this is less funny now, but I’m proud of him.” Embry braced his chin on his palm.

They watched the cousins fight with newfound appreciation, and booed Sam when he broke it up.

Fuck, that was another thing he loved about Bella. She was observant, always picking up on stuff. It was easy to feel cared for around her; she was always remembering little things, or pointing out what no one else noticed.

They came and sat with the others, both still grumbling.

“Hey, Ellie.” Bella waved at the younger girl.

“Hey, Bella!” Ellie didn’t mean to shout, she was just very, very loud. “I hear we’re all here for your tattoo reveal!”

“Yep, though it might not look the nicest, since my back is all red.”

“I’m sure it will look great!” Ellie assured her.

“Thanks, Ell.”

That got a conversation about soulmarks going, thankfully without continuing the fight.

Jacob tried to pay attention, but something niggled at the edge of his senses.

He couldn’t place what it was, as his human senses were nowhere near as strong as his wolf ones, but he knew something was wrong.

No one else seemed to notice, but it was really starting to get him.

Slowly, he curled around Bella, trapping her with his arms.

Whatever it was moved. He growled.

The others took notice, and looked around for the threat, but found nothing.

“Jake?” Bella looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t know. Obviously, whatever it was wasn’t really near them, as the other wolves would have reacted to an intruder on their land. So, what was it then?

Fuck, he didn’t- what was it? What the hell was it?

“Jacob, calm down.”

He was going to shift, he was doing his best to fight it off, but-

The thing disappeared. He relaxed.

“What happened?” Sam crouched down in front of him.

“I’m- I’m not sure.” he breathed shakily, arms still tightly wrapped around Bella. “It felt like an intruder- but no one else could feel it.”

Sam hummed grimly. “We’ll discuss this later.”

“Does that mean you know what it was?”

He nodded stiffly. “I believe so. But, it’s fine. It’s gone now, right?”

“Yeah, yeah it’s gone.”

“Good. Alright, everyone, let’s go in and help Emily with supper. The more we do now, the sooner we eat.”

The other teens filed into the house, shooting concerned glances back at Jacob.

Bella loosened his arms, and kneeled to face him.

“Are you okay?”

He bobbed his head. “Yeah, it was just really weird. I don’t, I don’t think- fuck. It was weird.”

She rubbed his shoulder. “Well, Sam said he knows what it is. And if it was urgent, he would have told you immediately. So, let’s go in.”

He stood up, and she led him in by his hand.

Emily was mass producing pasta salads, burgers, hot dogs, more types of salad, corn, grilled chicken, and had never looked more frazzled.

Her hair was in a bun so messy it was basically down, and she was bouncing from pot to counter, to outside with the barbecue.

“Okay, so turns out I need some help.” she blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Uh, fuck. I hate wolf appetites. Okay, okay. Who can take over barbecue?”

“I can!” Embry grabbed tongs and a big ass plate, and walked outside.

“I can do some of the salads.” Quill picked up a knife and began dicing tomatoes.

Everyone else was assigned a job. Jacob was grilling corn on a portable grill, as the barbecue was full.

He was grateful for something for his hands to do. Shit, he had to calm down. He was fine, everyone was fine, Bella was fine.

Oddly, that was what was bothering him. Bella was fine. Nothing had happened to her, she’d literally been sitting with him the whole time. So why did he feel like something was off with her? Not her exactly, but something to do with her. Shit, it was confusing. Probably some fucky imprint shit. 

Yeah, that was probably it.

He relaxed slightly.

“Jacob, the corn!”

 

As the sun was going down, everything was ready. Seth, Leah, and Jared had returned, and they could all start eating around the fire.

Bella couldn’t help herself from keeping an eye on Jacob, but he seemed to have calmed down.

So, she shrugged it off.

She’d been concerned that there was too much food, and some would go to waste, but she underestimated how much wolves could eat.

It was entirely disgusting, and Bella found herself deeply regretting eating with them.

She and Quill shot each other disgusted looks, and tried to get Emily in on it, but she was entirely numb to it.

Soon they migrated to a corner and huddled together with their respectable amounts of food.

“The fact that werewolf dick is easier on the eyes is horrifying.”

Quill nodded, glaring at his boyfriend.

After everyone finished their food, and the dishes had been washed, it was time to show off the tattoos.

Bella and Quill were on one side the fire, Jacob and Embry on the other.

Bella was stressing. “It’s gonna look ugly.”

“You look fine.” Quill gave her a pat on the head, and absently scrolled on his phone.

“It’s gonna be red and irritated and gross.”

“Bella, that’s what mine looked like. It’s fine.”

“Jake is gonna hate it.”

Quill’s head snapped up. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“But-”

“No, no buts.” he covered her mouth. “That- the fact that you even said that is ridiculous. You know you could walk out with fucking- I dunno, shit on your back, and he’d still love- it. He’d love it.”

She took a deep breath. Okay, you’re right. Okay.” she realized something. “Am I going to be topless in front of all the guys?”

Quill hesitated. “Uh, yes? But, to be fair, you’ve seen all of them naked, and no one here would perv on you.”

“Right. Right. Okay, I’m ready.”

“Great, I’ll let them know.”

He turned around, and gave the others a nod.

Embry nodded back.

They were ready to go.

“Okay, Jacob, remove your shirt.” Sam ordered.

He did, and Bella faced him.

Shit. She knew she would like it but- she didn’t think it’d affect her like this.

Fuck, she was tearing up.

On his back was a side profile of a swan, wings spread so both were visible. It’s eye was a pink carnation, it’s stem winding down the birds neck.

It was beautiful. Fuck. This- goddammit! It was a tattoo, why was she crying!

She bit her cheek and willed her tears away. “Damn, Jake, it’s amazing.”

“Really?” he peered over his shoulder. “You like it?”

“It’s… perfect.”

He grinned. “Okay, your turn.”

She swallowed and turned around.

Well, now or never.

She slipped off her shirt, and covered her chest with it shyly.

She heard a sharp inhale behind her.

“Jake? What do you think?”

Silence.

She glanced over to him, and saw tears streaming down his face.

“Jake!” she spun around, shirt still clutched tightly to her form. “What’s the matter? Does it look bad?”

He slowly walked towards her, and pulled her into a tight hug.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” he whispered.

Her tears returned. “Shut the fuck up.”

It was a bear head, with a flower crown also made of pink carnations. Apparently, they meant ‘I’ll never forget you’.

Bella knew, as Jake held her, sobbing over how happy he was that she had gotten the soulmark, that it was true. She’d never forget Jake, and she’d never leave him.

Ever.


	4. guys,,,, did you know,,,, there's a plot to this story,,,, cause i FoRGot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> literally did extra unnecessary research on the newborn army and forgot all about them

Charlie loved it. He said it was well done and looked good, but didn’t get how it related to Jacob. 

Bella told him that was okay.

Her mom liked it too. She was kinda mad Bella hadn’t told her about it, but was still very supportive. She insisted she and Bella get matching tattoos someday, and Bella had laughingly agreed.

Though, amidst all her excitement about the soulmark, there was something that was still bugging her.

Jake’s sudden burst of anxiety. It was the next day and Sam still hadn’t told him what it meant, and it was starting to piss Jake off.

“I just don’t get it.” he growled as he paced his room. “He said I have to wait until Quill gets back from Seattle in a few days. What the fuck does that mean? Why am I waiting on Quill?”

Bella hummed thoughtfully from the floor, Willis on her shoulder.

“Well, let’s go over what happened again.”

“Okay,” he rubbed his face, “so, I was sitting there, and everything was fine. And then, I felt like someone was trespassing on our territory, but also not? Like it felt the same, but also different. Like… like it was happening somewhere else?”

Bella ran her fingers through her hair. “Like your house?”

Jake shook his head. “That’s apart of our land. The others would have sensed that.”

“Well, what else would mean enough to your wolf side that it would react like that?”

Jake paled. “Your house.”

Bella stiffened, and Willis squawked.

“That’s- that would be crazy, though, right?” she tried to laugh it off. “You wouldn’t- you can’t- can you?”

His face was grim, and that scared her.

“Let’s go, just to make sure.”

As they got closer and closer to Bella’s house, Jake got more and more tense.

“Do you smell something?”

He jerked his head.

Great.

They pulled up the driveway, and a snarl escaped his mouth.

“Jake?”

He didn’t answer her. He launched out of the car, leaving the door open, and barged into the house.

“Jake!”

She chased him up the stairs, and when she looked in the doorway, there was a large, angry wolf.

He sniffed the air, prowling through certain rooms, and grumbling low in his throat.

She followed him, righting things his large form knocked over.

He forced his way up the stairs, and roared when he reached her room.

“Jake!” she charged up after him. His hair was spiked, and his lips were pulled back, revealing his sharp teeth. “Jake! Calm down! Whatever it was, it’s gone! It can’t hurt Charlie, or me!”

He looked at her, and calmed slightly.

“Do you need to run it out?” she asked. Sometimes, sprinting around the woods made it easier to shift back when they were emotional.

He padded after her, still clearly pissed.

She opened the back door, and he charged out.

She closed the door with a sigh.

Okay, first things first. Clothes for Jake.

She stole some pants and a sweater from Charlie, and threw them onto the couch.

Next, see what the mysterious presence had done in the house.

She walked back up to her room, and cautiously entered. She knew the thing was gone, but she still felt uneasy. Something had been here, while she wasn’t, and had probably wanted to hurt her.

Fuck, that was scary.

She sat on her bed. Thankfully, her room was pretty neat, which made it easier to see if something had been moved.

Don’t think it was clean because she was an organized person, that’s giving her too much credit. She just didn’t have enough stuff to make a mess. She hated shopping, so she lived off three t-shirts she bought, two she’d stolen from Jake, and five jeans she alternated between. Her knick knacks took up one table, and art supplies began to litter the floor as she got more and more into art.

Because of her minimal items, it was very easy to notice the sweater Jake had given her was missing. Well, that and she fucking loved that sweater and wore it all the time.

She knew for a fact she’d left it on her bed, because she figured she wouldn’t need it when she got her tattoo.

So whoever the fuck took it was about to get fucked up.

She searched the house to see if anything else was taken, but didn’t notice anything.

Well, that was good.

She paced the house and waited for Jake to return. Hopefully he knew what it was that had entered her house.

She hoped it was a human. Just some human creep her dad could take of easy peasy.

She suspected, by Jake’s reaction, that it was something else.

Finally, he came back, shyly covering himself.

“Sorry.”

She threw the clothes to him.

After he got dressed, he sat on the couch.

“Don’t say it. Say it was a creepy human, or an elf or something.” she stared determinedly at the living room wall.

“I’m sorry, Bell.”

“Shit.” she dropped her head into her hands. “Vampire?”

He nodded.

“Any chance it was Alice? Or Jasper, playing a prank?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t recognize the scent.”

“What- what the fuck does this mean? Is it Victoria?”

“No, like I said, I don’t know who it was. No one we’ve met before.”

She peeked at him from her hand. “How badly should I be worried?”

“We’ll have to ask Sam.”

She shot off the couch. “That son of a bitch! He knew someone came in my house, and took my favourite fucking sweater!”

“They took your sweater?”

“Yes!” she fumed. “It was the one you gave me and I really fucking like it!”

“R-really?”

“Come on!” she grabbed her keys and marched out of the house.

“What?” he pitter pattered after her. “Where are we going?”

“Sams. He’s explaining what the fuck is going on, right now.”

“Alright, hell yeah.” Jake grinned and hopped into the truck.

Bella whirled out of the driveway and sped down the road.

“Are we- are we actually doing this? Am I going to be yelling at Sam, for once? Damn, the tables have turned.”

“The tables are going to be bashed over his head if he doesn’t answer our questions.” she side eyed him. “Why are you so calm?”

“You said my sweater was your favourite.”

“Goddammit.” she sighed. “Remember our problem, Jake? Vampire? In my bedroom? Stealing my shit?”

He growled, and snapped a hand over his mouth.

“Sorry, I’m trying to stop doing that.” he muttered. “But, you’re right. Serious issue. We won’t leave without answers.”

“Good. But don’t, like, challenge his position as an alpha.”

“I’ve never done that!”

She spared him a glance. “Jacob. When you weren’t allowed to tell me you were a werewolf, you tried to take control of the pack so you could change that.”

He blushed. “Only for a few days! And then I stopped.”

“Just don’t do it again if you get pissed.”

He slouched. “I won’t.”

They pulled up to the alpha’s house.

“Let’s do this.”

She banged on the door, and Emily opened it with a smile.

“Bella! Jacob! What are you two doing here?”

“We need to see Sam.” she felt bad for being so curt with Emily, but someone had broken into her house, and he hadn’t even thought to tell her.

“Oh, he’s out on patrol. Is something wrong?”

“No, everything’s okay.” Bella lied. “Jake?”

“Already on it.” he was stripping, and threw his clothes to Emily. “Hold onto these for me, they’re not mine.”

“What-?”

He shifted, and Bella slid onto his back.

“Let’s go find him.”

“Bella! Jacob! Wait!”

They were already gone.

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yes,” Jake responded telepathically. “He’s patrolling the woods in the west.”

“Should we interrupt him? He might be busy”

“The only unwanted vampire in the area was at your house. We haven’t seen a hint of anyone else in weeks.”

“That’s good, at least.”

“Suspicious, more like.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, Victoria wouldn’t leave us alone for months, then she disappears out of nowhere.”

“You think she got more allies?”

“Yeah, I do. And I’m scared, Bella. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

She leaned further into his back.

“They won’t. We’re going to figure out what’s going on, and put a stop to it.”

“You’re right. Over here!” he veered, and soon Bella saw the black shaggy form of Sam.

“Sam!” she shouted.

The wolf stopped and looked at them.

She remained on Jacob’s back, enjoying the height advantage it gave her.

“We found out what happened last night. We know someone broke into my house. Why didn’t you tell us?” she demanded.

Sam shifted on his paws. “I didn’t want to concern you. It was a big night, and it was a problem that could wait until later.”

She couldn't technically hear Sam, but Jake related all he said back to her.

“Did you know it was a vampire?”

His ear twitched. “I wasn’t sure.”

“What’s going on!” Jake snapped. “What haven’t you told me?”

Sam curled his lip and rumbled. “Watch yourself, Jacob.”

“Just, just tell us what’s going on.”

Sam huffed. “We think, and this is mere speculation, that Victoria has been building a, well, newborn army of sorts.”

Bella froze. Dimly, she was aware of Jake moving, and of her landing on the ground, but she couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that Victoria had made an entire army of extremely violent vampires to kill her.

When her mind came back into focus, Jacob had Sam pinned to the forest floor, seconds away from biting his throat.

“Jake,” she reached a hand out.

His head whipped towards her, and his terrifying expression melted away.

He padded over to her.

“I want to go home now,” her face scrunched up. “Or, should I? What if it’s not safe- what if dad isn’t safe? Jake- Jake I don’t-” she started to cry.

He shifted back and crouched in front of her.

“They are not going to get fucking near you, Bella. I won’t let them. Ever again.”

She leaned into his chest. “I don’t want them hurting my dad, you can’t let them hurt Charlie, please, please,”

“I won’t. They won’t come near him. I promise.”

Sam walked up behind them. “I’m sorry, Bella. Quill and Embry are in Seattle now, where we suspect they’re hiding.”

“I thought he was visiting his uncle,” Bella muttered.

“He was, it turned into something else when we got more information from the Cullens.”

Her head whipped up. “The Cullens? They knew too?”

“I’m sorry, Bella.” Sam really did look sorry, but Bella didn’t care.

“Victoria builds a fucking army to kill me, which you didn’t even fucking tell me about, and all you can say is sorry?” she stood up, and Jake stood in front of her.

“Bella-”

“How long have you known?”

Sam looked away. “A while.”

“Fuck.” she pulled at her hair. “Jake, Jake take me home. I don’t care, just- just take me home.”

He nodded, and shifted again.

 

She didn’t sleep that night. She just sat on the couch, garlic and flashlight in hand.

She knew it wouldn’t help, but she couldn’t leave her dad unprotected.

She had to keep him safe.

She had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, also, not to ruin my own mood, but Jacob and Paul are butt naked in that last scene. just. all their bits are out. Bella is crying into the arms of a naked man.


	5. so much stuff happened in this movie i didn't know about????

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> she got graduated, she heard Jaspers backstory, there was some werewolf shit???? Goddammit, im going to have to watch the movie aren't i. shit.

A few nights later, Edward appeared.

She’d stopped speaking to the Cullen's, and the werewolves. Turns out, everyone else had known but her and Jacob, and even if Jacob had known, she knew he would have found a way to tell her.

She couldn’t trust the others. That didn’t mean she could trust him, though.

She was sitting cross legged on her bed, pillow clutched to her chest when he came into her room.

“Edward.”

“Bella.” he walked around the room casually, touching things here and there. “You found out.”

“Why am I not surprised you knew when I didn’t?”

“I prefer you didn’t know at all.” he admitted nonchalantly.

“What reason could you possibly have for that?”

He shrugged. “No need for you to worry. My family and your mutts can handle this.”

She sneered at the insult. “Manners, Edward, or I’ll make you leave.”

He smiled, and rubbed his torso where she had once pressed a flame. “Yes, I’m sure you will. I’ll use my manners.”

She shifted uneasily. “So, what do you want?”

Edward sighed. “I dislike Victoria going after my mate.”

Bella stiffened, but he raised a hand before she could protest.

“That’s how I see it, and that’s how she sees it, so it’s easier to think that way.”

She slumped. “Whatever. Go on.”

“She left the first time when she caught word our family was coming back, but now she knows it’s not all of us. That information, along with her army, will give her confidence. She’ll be acting soon.”

“What should I do?” Bella swallowed.

“Stay out of the way. Let us handle it.”

Bella had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying ‘I’m not leaving you’. It had become habit, at this point, to say that. But this time, she wouldn’t have meant it.

“I can’t just leave everyone to fight for me.”

“It would be more help than giving Victoria exactly what she wants.” Edward said bluntly.

Bella groaned and tugged at her hair. “Why does she even want me? Jake imprinted on me, I have a fucking soulmark! That should be a clear sign I’m not yours!”

Edward scoffed. “Right, the weak werewolf equivalent of our mates. Victoria won’t take that seriously.”

Bella bristled at his dismissal of her imprint status. It meant a lot to her, and it hurt having someone that used to mean so much to her brush it off as nothing.

“Where should I go?”

He frowned. “You’re not going anywhere. Once Sam’s spies are done in Seattle, we’re going there and taking them down. End of story.”

She crossed her arms and leaned back. “Sounds too easy.”

“Kind of. Five experienced vampires and eight werewolves against a handful of newborns. We’ll be fine. It’s just important you stay out of the way so we can handle it.”

“I can do that.”

“I know you can.” he walked towards the bed, something she’d been thankful he was avoiding.

He came right up beside her, and brushed his hand against her cheek. She flinched.

“One day,” he muttered quietly. “See you at graduation.”

“You’re going to that?” she couldn’t help but feel shocked. He hadn’t exactly been keeping up his attendance.

“Of course.” he smiled, revealing pearly fangs that made her shudder. “I have a graduation cap to collect, after all.”

 

In all the werewolf and vampire nonsense going on, Bella had forgotten she was graduating. In all honesty, Edward mentioning it that night was all that reminded her of it.

Not like there was much for her to do; she had already bought the gown, she’d gotten all her credits, her dad knew when it was, she was set.

She was sad her mom and Phil couldn’t show, but he had a big game across the country.

Renee still made Charlie promise to facetime her, though.

Bella begged her mother to not make a fuss if he did, but she refused to promise anything.

The ceremony was awkward. The valedictorian was her ex-friend, Jessica, so listening to her speech was just very uncomfortable.

Not to mention how tense it was seeing the Cullen's. She found it hard to be friendly with any of them, knowing they kept a fucking vampire army sized secret from her.

Alice was especially hard to look at, considering just how devastated she looked whenever they made eye contact.

After they got their diploma’s, Bella stood beside her father.

"I'm proud of you, Bell. I know it was hard to bounce back after your, uh, mourning period. But you did good."

"Thanks, Dad." She smiled at him. 

"You, uh, you get in a fight with Alice?"

"What makes you say that?"

Charlie gestured behind her. "She looks like the saddest dog I've ever seen in my life."

Bella glanced over her shoulder, and saw Alice did like horribly sad."

She sighed. "Yeah, she kept something kind of big from me, and I'm pissed about it."

Charlie nodded. "Makes sense. What are you going to do about it?"

She rubbed her eyes. "I don't know. Forgive her? I know she wasn't doing it to be malicious."

"So, you gonna go talk it you."

She gave him a hug.

"See you in a bit, Dad."

She meant what she said. Alice wasn't one to be mean like that, she was probably doing it to keep her safe.

Hell, knowing how danger prone Bella was, they probably kept it from her so she didn’t march right up to the very deadly army.

She approached Alice when she was alone, and the girl was clearly trying to fight off a smile.

Bella groaned.

“Alice, you can’t have our arguments before I even get here. That’s rude.”

“I’m sorry?” she grinned sheepishly. “Does that mean I’m forgiven?”

Bella rolled her eyes and pulled her into a hug. “You’re still a dirty whore for keeping it from me.”

“It seemed like an easy fix! I didn’t want to worry you!” Alice squeezed her.

Bella sighed. “I know, I know, good intentions and whatever. Just be open with me next time.”

“I will!” she beamed. “Oh, are you going to the after party?”

Bella winced. “Do I have to?”

“Of course! It’s important, Bella! We always go.”

Bella pulled back. “Alright, but I’m not wearing anything fancy.”

“Okay! I’ll wear something super fancy, so we’ll match.”

Fuck, yeah, okay. Alice was forgiven. Pixie lil bitch.

Bella stuck true to her word. She showed up in ripped jeans, a dark brown t-shirt that may or may not have once belonged to Jake, and the muddiest sneakers mankind had ever seen.

Alice, true to her word, showed up in a sparkly floor length blue dress, matched with ridiculous heels.

They walked in, arms linked.

“We look like a lesbian couple from a bad sitcom.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Bella.” Alice waved her off. “We’re like a good lesbian couple from a good soap-opera.”

“Right, my mistake.” she side eyed smiled at Alice. “If it weren’t for Jake, and Jasper, and the fact that Edward ruined vampires for me, I’d totally date you.”

“Aw, Bella, that’s so sweet!” Alice gave her a side hug. “I’d totally date you, too.”

Bella laughed, and ducked behind a wall.

The party was taking place in someone’s house, and she just saw someone she very much did not want to in the living room.

“What? What are we hiding from?” Alice whispered, not moving from her position.

“No one, just come back- hey, Jessica! Great speech.”

“Aw, thanks.” the brunette forced a smile. “It’s been a while, Bella, how are you doing?”

Bella coughed into her hand. “Uh, you know. I’m good. Real good. How are you?”

“I’m good, I’m good. Got into the college I wanted, Mike and I are dating, everything's good.” she tilted her head. “Are you dating anyone?”

Bella blushed. “No, no I’m not.”

“Oh? That’s too bad. Love really is magical.”

Bella shoved her nails into her palm. “Yep. That’s what I’ve heard.”

Alice grabbed her wrist. “Look! Jasper’s here! Let’s go get him!”

“Sorry, gotta go.” she eagerly followed Alice away.

“Well, that was fun.” the vampire deadpanned.

“No kidding. Is Jasper really here? And if he’s coming, why didn’t he just come with us?”

“He’ll be here in a few minutes, and he had to get a quick hunt in so he could be around everyone.”

“Oh, yeah. Thirsty bitch, ain’t he?”

Alice hummed. “That he is.” she let the human go. “You’re not waiting for him, though.”

“What?”

“You’re going to go mingle!”

“Alice, don’t you dare-”

The girl had already super speeded away.

“Fucking bitch.” she muttered.

Whelp, she knew absolutely no one here. The only people she did know were: the teens she couldn’t look at without feeling awful, and the one kid that almost hit her with his car.

Great line up, right?

She awkwardly shuffled around the house, making small talk when necessary, but mostly just hating life and Alice.

Just as she’d dodged Mike for the third time, she sensed a familiar presence.

Which, was still really freaky, but she was getting used to it.

She weaved through the crowd, and then she saw him.

“Jake!” she threw her arms around him.

Someone coughed.

“And friends.” she glared at Quill.

“I… love you?” he offered.

She huffed. “I forgave Alice, so I guess I should forgive you.”

“You forgave Alice?”

Bella scratched the back of her head. “She looked really sad?”

Jake deflated. “Yeah, so did they. That’s why I asked them to come.”

“How’d you even know about it?”

Embry arched his brow. “There’s two high schools in the area, Bella. How could we not know where it is?”

“Okay, so, did you come to see me? Or to enjoy the party?”

“I had a hunch you’d be here.” Quill shrugged. “I mean, you went to prom.”

“Yeah, guess so.”

Embry elbowed Jake. “Don’t you have something for her?”

Jake bat him away. “Go! Go drink booze or some shit, let me do this.”

The boys snickered a ran off, holding hands.

“What was he talking about?”

Jake choked. “Uh, it’s just, I made you. Something. For graduation. As a graduation present. Because you graduated.”

“Yes, yes I did.” the side of her mouth turned up.

“Yeah, so-uh, here.” he pulled a key chain out of his pocket. On the end was a wolf carved out of wood. “I, um, made. It. For you.”

“Jake, really?” she held it delicately. “I love it.”

“Really?” he brightened. “That’s good! I thought it was kind of corny, because, you know, the whole wolf thing, but it also seemed kind of cute? So-”

She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

He smiled dumbly, then shook his head. “Yeah, anytime. Like, well, I didn’t mean I’d always carve stuff for you, not that I won’t! That’s-”

She kissed his other cheek. “It’s okay, Jake. I love this one.”

“Good, I’m glad.” he shifted his weight. “So, do you wanna-?”

She tuned him out when she saw Alice on the stairs. The girl had that look on her face, the one that meant she was seeing a particularly bad vision.

“Alice?” she called out.

Her wide, yellow eyes locked with Bella’s.

Shit.

 

All of the Cullen's, including Edward, and the wolves from the party were gathered on the deck outside the house party.

“So, according to Alice, we have four days before they get here.” Carlisle rubbed his forehead. “At least we know what they’re doing.”

“And what they’re doing is coming here to kill Bella!” Jake snapped.

She placed a hand to his chest. “Calm down, Jake.”

“Yes, don’t want you making a scene.” Edward drawled.

“Shut up. If this weren’t an important meeting I’d be biting your head off.”

“Boys, focus!” Alice scolded. She was vibrating with anxiety, and Jasper was rubbing a soothing hand along her back. “I saw them passing something around, getting Bella’s scent. It was a sweater.”

“Those bitches.” Bella growled. “Wait, does that mean they have Jake’s scent too?”

Alice nodded. “So, if we send you away, he can’t go with you.”

They both froze at that.

“No, that’s bullshit. I’m not leaving her.”

“I’m not leaving him to fight, that’s just not fucking happening.”

“Calm down, you two.” Carlisle raised a placating hand. “I know it’s not ideal, but that’s the situation we’re in. Who else can go with Bella?”

“It has to be a wolf. Their smell will cover Bella’s.” Jasper pointed out.

Edward snarled slightly. “I’m going with her.”

“I think the fuck not.”

“Edward, I’m not going anywhere with you.”

He leaned his head back and groaned. “Werewolf protection is all well and good, but you should bring a vampire with you.”

“Not the one that can read minds, you’d be more help here, predicting their moves with Alice.” Bella countered, and Jake nodded.

“We can send Seth with her.” Embry offered. “He hasn’t been in any real fights yet, but he should be able to get her out of danger if she’s found.”

“You want to send someone who doesn’t know how to fight with her?” Edward laughed mockingly. “Brilliant. She’ll be so safe.”

“Shut up, Edward.” Jake took a threatening step towards him.

“No, he’s right.” Carlisle interjected. “Seth can go with her, but someone else should be there just in case.”

“What are we even defending ourselves against?” Quill interjected. “You said it was Victoria, right? So, why can’t Alice just predict what she’s going to do?”

Alice raised her shoulders to her ears. “It’s- she’s not the one making the decisions. I didn’t even see her in my vision. It was just some kids I don’t know.”

Edward scanned her mind. “I know one of them. Riley Briers, he went missing a year ago.”

“We saw missing signs for him in Seattle.” Quill nodded. “Along with a few other teens. I can pull up the website where they’re all listed, see if Alice recognizes any of them.”

“Okay, you two do that. Everyone else, establish a perimeter. We need it watched 24/7.”

“I’ll tell Sam to tighten the schedule.” Embry looked to his boyfriend. “I’ll probably be seeing a lot less of you, then.”

He shrugged. “That’s okay. Better than a bunch of out of control vampires running around.”

“Wait, no.” Bella stepped forward. “I’m not letting you guys get hurt just to protect me, that’s bullshit. You guys don’t even like the vampires.”

Embry smiled at her. “Bell, we’ve been working with them ever since Alice got her first vision saying something was off. We’re doing this for you, because you matter. We want to.”

“No, you- you can’t.”

“Bella forget about us.” Jake grabbed her shoulders. “We need to focus on keeping you safe.”

“Don’t fucking say that, I’m not just letting this slide, Jacob.”

“Relax, Bella. You don’t have to go anywhere yet.” Carlisle assured her. “We’re going to do some training, first. If all goes well, and we’re confident enough, then you can stay.”

It was a lie. Bella knew that. But staying in town meant she had more time to convince them to let her stay.

“Fine. Whatever.”

Carlisle turned to Jasper. “Do you think you could give us some tips and tricks?”

Jasper was wearing his constipated face. “Yeah, sure. I can do that.”

“Okay.” Embry stepped forward. “Name a time and place, and we’ll be there.”

Bella bit down hard on her cheek to keep herself from objecting.

She hated this, she hated this whole stupid fucking plan, this whole fucking situation, but she couldn’t do anything right now.

“Great, cool. Glad that’s settled.” Bella crossed her arms tightly. “Can I go home now? I’d like to return to my night terrors about all my friends being murdered by a vampire army.”

Carlisle sighed. “Yes, we should all go home and rest. I’ll discuss a time for training with Sam tomorrow.”

“He’s gonna love that.” Embry grumbled.

They split up, the vampires disappearing almost instantly, Quill and Embry leaving after shooting her sympathetic looks.

“Jacob? You coming?” Quill jangled his keys.

He stared at Bella.

She let out a puff of air. “I’ll call you when I get home. We’ll talk more then.”

He nodded stiffly, and followed his friends.

Bella kicked a rock when they walked out of her sight.

And to think, she’d thought the worst thing about that night was going to be dodging Mike and his not so subtle advances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also if any of you say the apologies were rushed that's because they were and i'm not sorry so nyeh.
> 
> also also don't worry about Jessica, she has a lesbian awakening, and runs off with a ginger who stopped in town while on a musical tour wink wonk
> 
> ALso also also, Bella and Alice are Bisexual, let me have this, it's pride month and they're cute


	6. i feel like this story is too short but this chapter is long soooo balance?

Breakfast was fun.

“Jeez, Bella, I expected you to come home drunk, not having an anxiety attack.” Charlie rubbed his tired eyes.

“I wish.” she grumbled into her mushy cereal.

Neither Swan had slept a wink last night; Bella, because the fear of her friends getting injured or dying had hit her hard as soon as she got home, and Charlie because his daughter was crying about her friends dying.

“Well, you can rest up today. Stay inside, watch those episodes of Hope Valley you missed so we can finally watch the new ones, just take a chill day.”

She shook her head. “I can’t, I have plans.”

He frowned. “Bells, is that a good idea? You were up all night. You must be exhausted.”

“I’ll sleep later.” she took a sip of coffee. “This is really important, I can’t miss it.”

“Alright, then.” he sighed and stood up. “Bill and I are going to do some spring cleaning around his place, take care of all the shit that bird destroyed.”

“He’s your grandson, be nice.”

He ruffled her tangled hair. “Ugh, Bella. Seriously, brushes. Use them.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and pushed his arm away. "You don’t brush!”

“How dare you, I brush my mustache everyday!” he proudly ran his fingers across it, and Bella chuckled.

“My apologies.”

“Accepted.” he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t be out longer than you have to, and watch those episodes.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go, go be good little maid.”

“Asshole.” he muttered as he left the kitchen.

She smiled at her fathers retreating back.

He was good to her, almost too good. He didn’t ask questions, he just tried to help with the information he knew. She wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything.

But, the Volturi would kill him if he found out, and her too, for telling someone else. The wolves couldn’t really do anything against that, since she would have broken a law then.

Damn.

She stretched and moved from the table.

Well, time to watch her friends train so they could fight an army of vampires that were created specifically to kill her.

Fun.

When she pulled up to the training grounds, everyone else was already there.

Fashionably late, right?

“Fighting the newborns won’t be easy.” Carlisle informed the others.

Well, that didn’t fit with what Edward and Alice had said.

“Our kind are at our strongest when we first turn, as we still have our human blood in our tissue. This makes them a large threat. Jasper has had experience with newborns, and will give us tips on what we need to do to win.”

The blond stepped forward and nodded to his adopted father.

“Their enhanced strength is the allure of newborns. With humans, you need thousands to make a sizable army. Fifteen or so will do just fine against any military force humans have.”

How in the fuck was this made out to be an easy fight?

Oh, she was going to kill Alice.

“There are two things you need to remember when it comes to newborns. First, don’t let them get their arms around you. They’ll crush you, instantly.” Bella flinched. “Second, never go for the easy kill. If their tactics are anything similar to what I’ve seen before, they’ll have a bait-like set up. One looks easy to get, and others are paying close attention. So be careful.” he gestured to Emmett. “Come on, let’s run through some drills.”

The other vampires moved closer, to watch their family train.

Bella was trembling with rage. Those liars. Those filthy fucking liars. This wasn’t an easy fight, this was a fight that could get them killed.

Fuck. Fuck.

Embry brushed against her side, but got no closer to the vampires.

She rubbed his head. “This is fucking horse shit. I’m not letting you guys die for me. If I’m so much trouble, just let her kill me.”

A wolf snapped behind her, and to her surprise, it was Paul.

He rubbed his head against her back, and growled softly.

“Aw, you softie.” she pet both wolves. “Fine, I won’t give myself up. I still don’t like this.”

She watched Carlisle bash his foot into Edwards chest, who was lying on the ground, and smiled.

Well, if training meant Edward getting beat up, she couldn’t really object.

Jared made a sharp sound, and Embry and Paul trotted over to him.

Jake replaced them.

She melted into his fur, putting all her weight on him.

“Some of you are going to get hurt.” she whispered into soft, rusty fur.

He rumbled.

“Jake- Jake what if some of you get killed?” her hands shook. “I can’t, I couldn’t live with myself if any of you die for me.”

He huffed, and nuzzled her leg.

She relaxed into him more, trying to let his warmth wash her discomfort away.

Then she felt heard him growl.

She looked up, and there was Edward.

She stared icily at him. “I thought you said this was going to be an easy fight.”

“It has some risks, I’ll admit, but we have the wolves and my family on our side. The newborns can’t have had any real fighting experience. We’ll be fine.”

She grabbed a handful of Jake’s fur. “I can’t tell when you’re lying to me.”

He smiled. “Guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

“I was thinking the opposite, actually.”

His expression tightened. “Hm.”

“We’re done for the day!” Carlisle announced. “Everyone, pack up.”

The wolves snorted. She could almost hear Paul’s annoyance.

“Really, that’s it?” Jake asked finally.

She knew he didn’t like to talk when he was emotional, so she hadn’t been too worried when he hadn’t spoken to her.

She furrowed her brow. “I guess so? Maybe they were just showing off for us. Showing us how cool and good at fighting they were.”

“Maybe.”

“Well, we know the wolves can fight vampires. We just wanted to demonstrate that we do, too.”

Bella bristled, hating that he could hear their conversation.

“Well, we best be going.” he slowly walked away, eyes trained on Bella.

At least he wasn’t as forward as Mike was. A lot creepier, though.

Bella sighed and gave Jake one last rub. “I’ll see you later, okay? I’m just gonna say bye to Alice and head home.”

He dipped his head, and followed his brethren into the trees.

Sam watched him go, and looked back at Bella.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He flicked his ear, and walked away.

Well, she’d just forgiven Sam. She hoped he knew.

She wandered over to where Alice was standing with Jasper, and a question came to mind.

“Hey, Jasper,” she got the vampires attention, “how do you know about newborn stuff?”

He shifted awkwardly on his feet. “I, um, I used to be in a newborn army.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

He scratched his head and looked away. “Yeah. See, I was in the confederate army-”

Bella choked.

“I know, I know. I mean, I didn’t know then, but I’ve learned. Promise. Anyways, I was in the army, when I came across these three ladies in the middle of the desert. I stopped to help them, and ended up getting bit. Lesson learned. Never help people ever again.”

Alice tapped his arm lightly. “You’re helping someone right now, Jazz.”

“Oops.”

“Wow, thanks Jasper.”

“Sorry, sorry. Anyways, again, one of their names was Maria. She was… very persuasive. Said a lot of things I wanted to hear. Honestly, it wasn’t that different from the army. She had me do her dirty work; make newborns, train them, kill them after a certain amount of time. It was hell, in a word. Just an endless cycle I couldn’t escape. Until Alice, of course.”

She smiled. “Made me wait for you, but I got to you eventually.”

He smiled back, and they kissed.

Bella shuffled away. Gross.

 

A few days later, after some actual training, and a quick excuse to Charlie, she was walking with Edward, Carlisle and Jasper in a clearing to meet Seth.

The plan was to cover her scent with werewolf stink, so none of the newborns could track her.

“I hate this.”

“It’s for your own good. Besides, you probably won’t even smell it yourself.” Jasper assured her.

“What? I’m talking about Edward being here.”

Carlisle rubbed his forehead. “Can we just get along? Please?”

“I’m behaving.” Edward folded his hands together.

“For once.”

‘What did I just say?”

“Hi Bella!”

“Seth!” she grinned and hugged him. “Are you ready to carry me through the woods?”

“Of course!” he bounced on his feet. “I’ve been working out, and I’ve got werewolf strength, so it’s gonna be super easy!”

“Sounds good.” she rubbed his head.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked the vampires.

“We’ll be fighting in this field. The open space will give us an advantage, but we need to lure them here for that to work. So, we let Bella’s scent lead them to this spot. But, we can’t let them follow her when she escapes. So, we need to see if you and your intense odor can cover hers.” Carlisle explained

“Oh, okay. I don’t think that was supposed to be mean, so that’s okay!”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I was not trying to be mean.” Carlisle startled at his words. “Uh, so, after you do that, we’ll all take one night to rest up, and then tomorrow you, Bella, and I will be camping on the mountain while the fight happens.”

Bella and Seth exchanged looks. Neither liked being away from the battle, but both knew they didn’t have any other choices.

“Okay, sounds good.”

It did not.

“So, do I carry her now? And for how long?”

Jasper hummed. “Fifteen minutes should be good, and yes you can go now.”

“Alright!” he turned to Bella, who was used to being scooped up.

“Uh, how are we doing this?”

He rubbed his chin. “Piggy back?”

She laughed. “Yeah, turn around.”

She hopped on his back, and he ran for the woods.

“So, how are you doing?” Seth puffed.

“As good as I can, I guess.” Bella shrugged.

Seth dodged a tree and leaped over a rock. That was fun, Bella giggled at that.

“That makes sense.”

“How are you?”

“I’m good. Kinda bummed to be missing the fight, kinda bummed my friends might get hurt.”

“Wow, that’s… actually exactly what I’m feeling.”

Seth grinned back at her. “Really?”

“Yeah, dude. Like, leaving Jake and all my friends sucks. I feel terrible about it.”

“I feel the same about Leah.”

“Oh, right, you imprinted.” Bella ducked to avoid a branch. “How’s that going? I haven’t heard anything about a soulmark ceremony.”

“Yeah, we haven’t really found time.” he climbed over a fallen tree. “What with all this vampire stuff, you know? But Ellie and I have been talking, and we’ll probably see if Sam can do it sometime soon.”

“Oh? Are you going to get it done together?”

Seth shook his head. “Not on the same night, but maybe the same week? We’re tired of putting it off.”

“I hear that. Charlie made me wait two weeks before I could get it done, I can’t imagine waiting longer than that.”

“Yeah, it’s not very fun. But, I know we’ll do it eventually.”

They ran through the woods in silence for a bit.

“Everyone’s gonna be fine, right?” Seth asked quietly.

Bella bit her lip. “I hope so, Seth.”

They finished their run.

“Well, can you smell me?” she asked as she jumped off.

“No, you reek of him.” Edward curled his lip.

“Shut up, Edward.” she sneered.

“Okay, at least we know it will work. Everyone can go home now. Rest up, prepare for tomorrow.”

Edward caught Bella’s hand and kissed it. “Til we meet again.”

“Hm.” she glared at him.

She got into her truck, and drove home.

She wanted to see Jake, before she left. Wanted to make sure he was okay with all of this.

She pulled into her driveway, and called him. No answer.

Five more calls revealed the same result.

“Fuck.” she leaned her head against the steering wheel. What could she do? Charlie had left for a fishing trip, everyone else was getting ready to die for her, and Jake wasn’t picking up.

Fuck. What could she do?

An idea came to her.

She ran inside, grabbed some supplies, and drove away.

Soon, she came upon the flower shop.

She opened the door, and turned on the lights.

It was peaceful. The store was closed that day, but as a keyholder that didn’t affect Bella.

She walked up and down the aisles, grabbing plants here and there.

When she felt she had enough, she sat down on the floor, and lined them up in front of her.

She slipped her bag off her shoulder, and pulled out a sketchbook.

She took a deep breath, and began to sketch.

The first few ones weren’t so good, but as her hand loosened up, and her mind relaxed, she improved.

She slipped on her head phones, and let the music play.

Pages and pages filled with the plants; once she’d done the ones in front of her, she did whatever ones she could see around the store.

Fuck, she felt better. She let her mind drift, and just do whatever it pleased.

Maybe, things would be okay after all.

 

Embry had called Jake in a panic, and he’d rushed over instantly.

“Embry? What’s wrong?”

The teen was pacing in his garage.

“Jacob, Jacob I don’t know what to do. I-” he faced his friend, and Jake was horrified to find he was crying.

“Embry!” he grabbed his friends shoulders. “Embry, breathe. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Jacob, I-” his lip trembled. “Quill has a fever.”

“Okay, that’s okay. He’s just a little sick, nothing… wrong…” his eyes widened. “Unless you mean…”

He sobbed into Jacob’s shoulder.

“Did, did I do this? Did I spread it to him?”

“Em, you know it’s not like that. It’s probably because the vampires are coming. That’s why Brady and Collin shifted a while ago, right? I think, I think it was inevitable.”

He wailed. “Jacob, he never wanted this. I know- I know he joked about it with you guys, but we talked about it. He really, really didn’t want this. He- fuck!” he cried harder.

Jacob rubbed his back. “Hey, hey it’s okay. You didn’t do this. You couldn’t have. It’s not possible. But, you can help him through this. You’ve been doing this for awhile, right? We all have. We can make it easier on him.”

Embry wasn’t listening. “Jacob, Sam’s going to put him on patrol duty. He’s gonna make him watch out for vampires. What if he finds one? What if it kills him? Fuck, Jacob!”

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re both gonna be okay.” he slowly lowered his friend to the cement floor, and sat with him.

Embry shook in his arms, and Jacob stroked his hair.

Selfishly, he was happy he’d never have to worry about that with Bella. The idea of her going through the uncontrollable shifts, of the strange wolf impulses over taking her every now and then, fuck. It sounded awful.

No wonder Embry was crying.

He rocked his friend softly, and whispered soft things into his ear.

Finally, his breathing slowed, and he pulled back.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” he rubbed his eyes. “Didn’t mean to be such a fucking mess on you.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You did the same for me when I was missing Bella. It’s just a pack thing.”

“Yeah, my favourite wolf power. Sobbing dramatically over our significant others.”

“Dude, just imagine how Sam reacted when he hurt Emily.” he leaned back against the garage wall. Embry did the same beside him.

“Oh, shit.” he winced. “That must have been shit. He was the only one at the time, too. He didn’t have anyone.”

“No wonder he’s so grumpy. He had to go through so much on his own.”

“Yeah, that must have sucked ass.”

Jake sighed. “I’m so not happy for this fight.”

“Neither am I.” Embry pulled out his phone as it buzzed. ‘Oh, that’s Quill.”

“Answer it.” Jake shoved him. “He needs you right now.”

He took a deep breath, and scrubbed his face again. “You’re right. You gonna go see Bella?”

“Yeah, probably.” he smiled at his friend as he got up and walked towards the house. “See you later.”

Embry waved as he answered the phone. “Hey, darling. Are you okay?”

Jacob sat on the floor for a while longer, then pulled out his own phone.

Six missed calls from Bella. Fuck.

He used his handy dandy imprint gps, and ran, literally, to the flower shop.

He opened the door, and looked around. He could smell her, but not see her.

“Bell? You here?”

A head popped up from behind the counter. “Jake?”

He smiled softly, and walked towards her.

“Hey, Bell.”

He sat beside her. “What are you doing?”

“Sketching.” she showed him her book.

“That’s a shit ton of plants.”

She smiled. “Yeah, it’s all I had to draw. It was peaceful.”

“I’m glad.”

They flipped through the pages, Jake pausing to point out specific ones he liked.

When they finished, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“This is some bullshit.”

“That it is.” he said into her hair. “That it is.”


	7. daddy carlisle ;)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i promised daddy carlisle, so here he is.
> 
> also this story is so short???? what the hell i'm almost done. like this only has seven chapters and it's almost finished??? that seems unreasonable to me. if you agree dont worry, there'll be a Breaking Dawn story after this.

Well, leaving her friends to potentially die for her was hell, but that was to be expected.

They’d left early in the morning. Bella forced their goodbyes to be brief.

“I’m going to see all of you real soon, so there’s no need for dramatic goodbyes.” she’d declared.

She’d gotten a hug from all of them, even Sam and Paul.

Saying goodbye to Jake had been hard. She tried not to think about it.

Seth was feeling down too. He’d tried to put on a smiling face, but she and Carlisle knew.

Carlisle, though used to moody teenagers, was rather lost on how to help them feel better.

“So, uh, should we… play… a game?” Carlisle asked after making sure the tent was secure for the fifth time.

Bella looked up from the rock pile she and Seth were building.

“We’re very happy with this, thank you.”

“Oh, are you?” he swung his hands together and bit his lip. “Can, can I help?”

The two teens made eye contact.

“Should we let him?”

“I mean, doesn’t he have surgeon hands? He probably wouldn’t knock it over.”

“You’re right.” Bella nodded to the vampire. “But if you use any rock that isn’t grey, you have to go back to the tent.”

“Oh, um, okay.” cautiously, he sat down. “Is, is this good?” he held up a round pebble.

“It’s round, Mr. Cullen. Other stones would roll off it.”

“Oh, right.” the man was crouched awkwardly; one arm holding his legs, the other timidly searching for pebbles.

Half of it slipped off, but the teens kept going.

“Why are we doing this?”

Bella shrugged. “It feels like the right thing to do.”

“Oh.” he shuffled on his feet. “You don’t want to play cards, or something?”

Seth shook his head. “That needs too much thinking. This is easy.”

“Oh.”

When the pile reached a certain height, they moved over slightly and wordlessly began building a new one.

Shit, okay. Carlisle may have been a doctor, but he had no idea how to help them.

They were just acting so weirdly. It made no sense to the vampire.

After his own discomfort became too much, he stood up.

“I think I’ll make lunch.”

“Mr. Cullen, it’s only nine.”

“I’ll make it really slowly, then.” he walked into the tent and checked their supplies.

Too many cans of beans for comfort, and a loaf of bread. He wrinkled his nose. Not exactly the most appetizing.

Maybe he could run around the mountain, find some protein.

“Kids, I’m going to hunt something for lunch. Does anyone want to come with?”

“No thanks, Carlisle. We’re good here.” Bella waved at him from their third rockpile.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” he hesitated. “There’s juice, if you want some. I also brought some pop, and water. If you ever get thirsty.”

“Thanks, Carlisle.”

“And if you get bored of the rockpile, there’s cards, and a few boardgames in the tent.”

“Yep, got it Mr. Cullen.”

“And if you ever get really hungry, and just can’t wait for me to get back, you can heat up some beans. Need me to make a fire for you?”

“We’re good, Mr. Cullen.”

“Okay, okay. Should I run and get some salt, or something? For whatever I get? I don’t want it to be bland.”

“Carlisle, just go. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, see you soon.” he ran off.

Were they going to be okay? He was supposed to be watching them. Was leaving a mistake? Well, he couldn’t just let them eat plain beans. That would be wrong. So, finding food was the right thing to do.

But how would he prepare it? He heard fresh fish tasted good, but was it good enough to not have any spices? Would he roast it? How long did you roast fish? He could probably smell when it was done, right? Or maybe Bella knew, her father was gone on a fishing trip. But did that mean she knew anything about fishing? It was hard to say.

And what was with the rock pile? Was it because they were nervous? Were they so bored they resorted to that? Was he just boring?

He snatched a squirrel from a tree. Wait, wasn’t he getting fish?

Right, that was the plan.

He let the squirrel go.

He found a stream, and stood in it to catch the meal.

How many was enough?

Ten. Ten was enough.

When he returned to the campsite, they had moved on from their rocks, and Bella was sketching Seth as he posed against a rock.

“Hey, kiddos.” he slowly put the fish down. “What’s up?”

“Figure study practice.” Bella didn’t look up from her sketchbook. “I’ve gotten pretty good at plants, figure I’d try people.”

“Oh, okay. But why is he only wearing underwear?”

“This is how it’s done, Mr. Cullen.”

“Oh, okay.” he rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll get started on lunch.”

He still didn't know how long he was supposed to cook it. 

He decided not to bother them, and to just guess when the fish was done.

He guessed wrong.

Twice.

Bella helped out after that.

They didn’t cook all the fish, everyone got one each.

Except for Carlisle. Who didn’t eat.

So they made two fish.

He was doing great.

He waited for them to finish eating, and brought up the cards again.

“I know some fun games we can play with them.” he tried to bribe.

Seth sighed. “Sure, let’s play.”

Damn, look at Carlisle go. Bonding with the kids like a cool parent.

After a few games, Carlisle learned Bella was more competitive than Rosalie, which was saying a lot.

“We should not have played with her.” Carlisle whispered.

Seth nodded. “I didn’t expect things to get so mean.”

“Shut up, pussies.”

 

There was a storm that night. Cold winds buffeted the tent, and Bella shivered in her sleeping bag.

Carlisle was keeping watch outside, and Seth was panicking inside with her.

“What, what can I do? You’re cold, but you have all the blankets, and I can’t make a fire-” he ran his fingers through his hair. “What do I do?”

Bella shuffled in her sleeping bag.

“I dunno. Do you wanna cuddle or some shit?”

Eagerly, he pressed up against her; fabric separated them, but she could still feel his warmth.

She curled up against him, and the cold ache in her bones ceased.

“Damn, okay, that worked pretty well.”

“Yeah, us werewolves are warm.”

She released a visible puff of air. “Jake’s always so warm. Even before the shift. He just, he’s just a warm kind of guy.”

“Like a big fluffy bear?”

She snorted. “Yeah. Like a bear. Honestly, I love my mark, but we all know Emily and Sam have the best ones.”

“Oh definitely.” he nodded. “Sun and moon? That’s cool as shit. If I got that with Leah, she’d be the moon, and I’d be the sun.”

“Jake would be my sun, I’d be the moon.”

“What about Paul and Ellie? Who would be what?”

Bella hummed. “Ooo, that ones tough. I guess Paul would be the moon? Cause he goes through stages of anger, but Ellie is just always in your face.”

“Poetic, nice. Jared would definitely be the moon, and his brother the sun.”

“I love his brother.”

“Right? He’s so cute.”

Bella laughed suddenly. “Wait, I just thought of something. Jake, the werewolf, would be my sun. Isn’t that wild? A werewolf is the sun!”

Seth chuckled. “Yeah, that is weird.”

“Oh, and Embry would totally be the sun too. Quill and I are the same, that way.”

Seth tensed.

“What? What’s wrong.”

He looked away.

She sat up on her arm. “Seth, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” her stomach sunk. “Did the fight start? Did Embry get hurt?”

He shook his head. “Bell, I wasn’t supposed to tell you. He wanted to.”

“Who?”

A pause. “Quill.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

Oh shit.

“You’re serious?”

He hunched in on himself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”

She sighed and rubbed his bare back.

“No, you probably shouldn’t have, but I’m not mad.” she rubbed her forehead. “But seriously? Quill?”

He faced her again. “Yeah. Happened the day before we left.”

“Shit.” she leaned back in her sleeping bag. “Damn, that must be awful. He’s stressing about his boyfriend fighting an army of vampires, and now he’s a werewolf.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot to process.”

Bella flipped to her side. “What’s it like? When you shift?”

He rubbed his neck. “Uh, awful? It’s pretty awful. Like, it’s getting better, but it’s still hard. I mean, I’m not an angry guy, but that was because I could always talk myself down, you know? I was allowed to feel mad, but I always sorted it out. Now, I can’t even do that, because dwelling on it for too long can make me shift. I hate it. And your thoughts get all weird, like your brain has been reprogrammed, which it kind of has. So that’s terrifying. It’s better, though, having people who understand. We’ve got two new new guys, Brady and Collin, and it’s been kinda nice, watching someone going through what you did, knowing you can help. They’re both older than me, mind you, but I can still help.” he wrapped his arms around his legs. “I really admire Sam. He did all of this on his own. No help, no one who understood. Just him and his tail.”

Bella giggled. “Wow, so eloquent.”

He bumped her. “Leave me alone, I’m tired.”

“Yeah, me too.” she yawned. “Wanna go to sleep now?”

He furrowed down, and she tossed him a few blankets.

“But-?”

“They’re so your back doesn’t want to kill itself tomorrow.”

“Oh, thanks.”

They snuggled together.

“Night, Seth.”

“Good night, Bella.”

“Night Carlisle!” she screamed.

“Good night Mister Cullen!”

Outside the tent, the man smiled.

Kids, eh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story was going to have so much more seth than it does but here we are. let it be known hes my son and i love him


	8. the fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after this will be some Charlie vampire closure, and then we're on to Breaking Dawn!

The fight started around ten the next day.

Seth noticed first. Said he could feel the agitation in the others thoughts. They weren’t close enough for him to hear what they were thinking, but he could get that much. If Bella concentrated, she could feel Jake, too.

It had snowed, which upset Carlisle. He didn’t like the idea of them leaving tracks, but Bella shrugged it off, saying it wouldn’t really matter. If someone got close enough to see the tracks, they were close enough to smell her.

There wasn’t much to do but wait. Carlisle tried to start a few games, but even he couldn’t really get into it.

Soon they were all sitting on a ledge, trying to watch the fight.

“I’m sure they’re fine.” Carlisle offered. “My children, and your pack, are very capable. They’ll be fine.”

The other two didn’t say anything.

Bella was straining to feel Jake’s thoughts, to make sure he was okay. She was sensing a lot of tension, and every now and then, a spike of fear.

She hated it. She hated it so much.

Snow seeped into her jeans, and the cold air whipped the warmth from her body.

She didn’t care.

Seth was tense beside her, muscles tight, waiting for action.

It came.

Carlisle shifted beside her.

“Something's changed. She’s coming.”

“You smell her?”

He nodded. “She’s coming fast.”

“Fuck.” Bella leaned back on her hands. “How did she find me?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe she noticed I wasn’t there? And followed my scent?”

“Guess it doesn’t matter.” Bella stood up and dusted off her legs.

“Bella, I know you’re concerned about Jacob, but please show at least some desire to live.”

She sighed.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” she turned to the younger teen. “Seth, you know what to do.”

He nodded, shifted, and ran off into the snow.

“Get behind me, Bella, and be careful.”

“I will.”

Carlisle put a hand in front of her, and slowly backed against the rocks.

“She’s not alone.” Carlisle realized just as her partner appeared.

Bella flinched.

The man snarled at them, revealing sharp fangs.

Carlisle swallowed. 

“You’re Riley, right?” Carlisle held a hand in front of himself. “I’m Doctor Cullen. This is Bella Swan. We don’t mean you any harm.”

Riley wrinkled his brow. “When Victoria mentioned mind tricks, I expected something more elaborate. This is just sad.”

The ginger appeared in a tree above him.

“I thought Edward would be here.” she pouted. “I wanted to kill his mate in front of him.”

“I’m not his mate, you sick fucking hag.” Bella snapped.

“Bella, don’t.” Carlisle scolded.

“Don’t speak to her like that!” Riley roared and stomped on the ground, making a large crack appear. 

“She’s trying to kill me and the people I care about over the dumbest misunderstanding ever! I’ll speak to her however I damn please!” Bella strained against Carlisle’s hand.

“You can’t fool me! I know you’re mated!” Victoria retorted.

“No we're fucking not!”

“Bella,” Carlisle hissed, “they’re not wrong.”

“What?” she seethed.

“Technically, you are his true mate. It’s a vampire thing. It doesn’t require you to reciprocate, that’s just how it is for him.”

“Oh fuck me in the ass, are you serious?”

Victoria faltered. “This… this doesn’t feel right. Do you... not like him?”

“I hate his fucking guts!”

Riley nervously looked up at her. “Does… should we still do this? If they don’t like each other?”

Victoria rubbed her temple. “Yes, because even if she doesn’t like him, he still loves her. He has to, she’s his true mate.”

“Like James was yours?”

Victoria leered at them.

“What is she talking about?”

Her features softened. “Nothing, Riley. James means nothing. It’s only you. And we have to do this, together.”

"She's lying, Riley. James was her true mate, and Edward killed him for attacking Bella. That's what this is all about, not whatever she's told you."

"They're lying, Riley. They know they're not strong enough to defeat us, so they're lying."

He hesitated a moment longer, then determinedly marched towards them.

Before he could get too close, Seth leaped out of the shadows and slammed his jaw around the others neck.

The newborn howled, and Victoria made a run for it.

“Where the fuck are you going, coward?” Bella shouted after her. “I thought you wanted to kill me! So fucking commit!”

“Bella!” Carlisle eyed her in shock.

“We can’t let her get away. We have to kill her, once and for all. So, don’t let me die, okay?”

He nodded, and then Victoria was upon them.

He batted her with his hand, and pinned her to the ground. She kicked him away, and took another lunge at Bella. Carlisle yanked her by the ankle and she slammed into the ground.

She snapped her teeth at him, and he tightened his grip.

She screamed as it cracked, but kicked his hand hard enough he let go.

Meanwhile, Seth was tearing at Riley the best he could, managing to get a hand off.

Victoria was upon her, far too close for comfort.

Bella yelped and jumped out of the way, Victoria’s teeth snapping shut inches beside her neck.

“Holly fuck!” Bella screeched and made a run for it, Victoria on her heels.

Carlisle threw her back by her hair, and told Bella to run.

She tried to, but suddenly Riley cut her off.

He threw his hand out, and it slammed into her gut.

She coughed and collapsed on the ground, arms wrapped around her stomach.

Shit, she hoped Jake didn’t sense that and lose focus.

Her face bounced off the hard ground, and she winced. Well, that wasn’t good.

She tasted something metallic in her mouth. Unpleasant.

She coughed, and something red sprayed against the snow.

Blood. She must have bit her cheek. Damn.

She shifted her head, and saw dark feet approaching her.

Was, was this it? Was she going to die?

Huh. Who was going to tell Charlie? He’d be real mad if she died and no one told him.

Suddenly, the feet that were in front of her were gone.

Vampire speed? Least it would be fast.

She heard someone wailing, but couldn’t see what was happening.

Then, a wolfy snout bumped against her face.

She tried to get up, but it forced her down.

“Hey…” she mumbled, and tried to shove it.

It wouldn’t let her up until she heard another, more feminine scream.

Then, Carlisle was in front of her.

“Bella, Bella are you alright?”

“Hmm, maybe? Where’s Victoria?”

She slowly helped her up, and she held her head.

“Shit, that hurts.” she winced.

“It doesn’t look too bad though, which is good. Were you hit anywhere else?”

She rubbed her stomach. “Yeah, here. Hurts like a bitch.”

“I’m sure.” he scooped her up. “Don’t worry, Bella. We’re going to take you back down the mountain, and then you can receive medical care.”

“If you put me in the hospital I’ll bop you on the nose.” she muttered into his coat.

He huffed a laugh, then began his run.

“What about Seth?”

“I’ll come back for him when I drop you off.”

“Kay, good.” blood dribbled out of her mouth. “Don’t forget about him.”

“I won’t.”

They reached the clearing, and Bella saw a large, burning pile of bodies.

Ha, losers.

“Carlisle!” Alice called. “We have maybe ten minutes before the Volturi get here.”

He cursed, and handed Bella to Esmee.

“The pack needs to leave. They won’t honour our truce.”

“They let Bella live because she was an imprint.”

“Yes, but that was Aro. This is Jane.” Alice twisted her hands. “They need to go.”

“Lemme go, m’okay.” Bella slid out of the elders hands, though they hovered nearby, just in case.

A wolf growled behind her, and she heard Edward shout “Leah, no!”

She turned just in time to see Jake run at the newborn that had its arms around Leah. He got it to let go of her, but then he was the one being crushed.

“Jake!” she screamed.

There was a sickening crack, and Jake whimpered.

Bella wailed.

Sam and Paul pounced on the newborn, and Edward ripped its head off.

Then, surprisingly, he crouched beside Jake, and rubbed his arm.

“It’s okay, Carlisle will take care of it.” he assured the wolf.

Jake was writhing in pain, and Bella felt her heart breaking.

“Jacob! No!” she threw herself to the ground beside him. “Carlisle you have to fix him! Carlisle!”

The doctor was there in an instant.

“The bones on the right side of his body are crushed.”

Bella sobbed.

The pack appeared with the clothes that they had stashed earlier on, Leah storming up to the downed boy, furious.

“You asshole! I had it!”

Bella whipped her head up. “Back the fuck away bitch!”

Leah took a step back at her ferocity.

“Leah, not now!” Sam knelt beside Jake.

“I need to set the bones before the healing kicks in.” Carlisle informed the alpha.

“It’s too late, it’s already started.”

“He can’t be here when the Volturi show up.” Edward pointed out. “We can’t deal with both.”

“We’ll take him to Billy’s.” Sam went to move him, but Bella grabbed his wrist.

“You’re not fucking moving him like this! You’ll make it worse!”

Carlisle pressed a hand to her back. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, and add that to his enhanced healing, he’ll be fine.”

“Bella.” Edward looked into her eyes. “You have to let him go. It’s for the best.”

Her lower lip trembled as, for the first time in forever, she trusted Edward.

“Take him.”

The vampires backed away, and the pack circled around him. Everyone helped to pick him up, not because he was too heavy, but to ensure he wasn’t jostled around more than necessary.

“Take care of him, guys. Please.”

Paul nodded.

“We will.” Jared promised.

Then they walked away.

“They’re coming!” Alice warned them.

Bella sneered. Bastards.

She saw Jane approaching them, along with three men she didn’t recognize.

Jane made some comment about how unusual it was they’d all survived, but Bella wasn’t listening.

She had just noticed a young girl, hiding behind Jasper.

She had red eyes.

Bella sucked in a breath. Damn, Victoria really had just taken anyone, hadn’t she?

Fucking whore.

Slowly, Bella inched towards the girl.

“Hey.” she whispered.

The girl shot her a nervous look.

“H-hi.”

“You’re one of the newborns?”

She nodded slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“Did you hurt anyone?”

She shook her head. “I never wanted to. I came here to escape.”

Bella smiled. “Then it’s okay. Are the Cullen’s letting you stay?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Then we can be friends.”

The girl smiled. “Really?”

“Course.”

“Felix, get rid of it. I want to go home.”

“Wait-” Bella tried to move in front of the girl, but the tall vampire had already grabbed her.

“Stop!” the girl shouted, and tried to grab for Bella.

“No!” Bella grabbed her fingers, but the vampire yanked her away.

“Help!”

“Let her go!” Bella struggled to get to her, but to her horror, Jasper held her back.

“Control your human.” Jane scolded.

“Don’t do this, please, pleASE-”

 

They did it.

 

Late that night, Bella pulled up to the Blacks house.

Everyone was sitting outside, and they all looked at her when she got out of her truck.

She approached Billy.

“Hey, what’s-”

She was cut off by Jake’s tortured screams.

“Fuck. Fuck no. I have to- I can’t let him-”

Billy grimaced.

“It’s been going on for a while.”

She looked up, and saw Quill.

“W-what?”

“Doc’s been…” he closed his eyes and took a breath. “He’s been re-breaking his bones. So they can heal right.”

“Holy shit.” she held a hand to her mouth. “And he’s awake?”

The teen nodded.

“Why did he have to butt in? I could’ve taken that-”

“Leave it, Leah.” Paul interrupted coldly.

The two glared at each other.

Bella tugged at her hair and whined.

“Fuck. I should have been there. Fuck.”

They all looked up as the door opened. Sam and Carlisle stepped out.

“Tell me he’s okay.” Bella demanded.

The vampire nodded. “That was the worst of it, it’ll be better from here out. I gave him some morphine, but it won’t last long. I’ll be back soon with a drip.”

“Thank you, Mister Cullen.” Billy whispered.

He nodded, and walked away.

Bella was shaking.

Without another word, she ran into the house.

He was in his room.

“Oh, God.” she sobbed when she saw him.

He was pale, and sweaty, his right arm and torso bandaged up.

“Jake,” she dropped beside him. “Baby? Baby, are you okay?”

“Hurts.” he grunted.

“I know, baby. I know it does.” she reached for his uninjured hand. “But it’s gonna be okay. Carlisle’s gonna come back with some morphine, and you’re gonna heal stupidly fucking fast, and everything's gonna be okay. Okay? Okay, baby?”

“M’okay.” he groaned and his back arched off the bed. “Fuck, Bell. Hurts.”

Tears streamed down her face. “I know, Baby.”

She clasped both hands around his, and sat on the bed.

Willis squawked from his perch, and made his way over.

“Shh, you can’t cuddle with him yet.” she picked up the bird. “We gotta wait til he’s all better first, kay?”

She used one hand to stroke the bird, and the other never left Jake’s.

He shifted and whimpered.

“Shh, baby, you’re okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

Tears of pain trailed down his face.

She looked away.

“Gonna be just fine, baby. Gonna heal real quick, and get right back out there. You’re okay, baby.”

The morphine started to kick in after a bit, and he stilled.

“Yeah, that’s it. Feel better already, huh, baby?” she rubbed her thumb along his hand. “Gonna be all better real soon.”

He relaxed slightly, and though he was still tense, he was obviously asleep.

The others drifted in and out of the room, checking on him, checking on her.

Quill sat with her for a bit. They talked about how he was handling his shift.

He said, in light of what had happened to Jake, he was even more put off.

Bella couldn’t blame him.

Eventually the morphine drip was set up, and he fell into a more peaceful sleep.

Billy waited for Jacob to settle down, then went into his room to sit and watch over his son.

Bella got tired after a while, but refused to leave. Billy warned if she slept in the bed with him, it might jostle him and he would get hurt, so she slept on the floor.

She woke up late, and rubbed her eyes. She unzipped her sleeping bag, and looked around the room. She flinched when the sun from the windows hit her eyes, and her heart froze when she saw the bed was empty.

“Jake!” she ran through the hallway of the small house. “Jacob!”

Embry caught her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s okay. He’s in the kitchen.”

She broke free and ran there.

He was sitting at the table with Jared and Collin, eating cereal, and smiling.

“Jake,” she breathed, and he looked at her.

“Bella.” he shot out of his chair and over to her.

She pulled him into a hug, and squeezed tight, completely forgetting about his broken bones.

“Ow, ow,” he hissed. “Watch out, they’re still tender.”

She stepped away and slapped him in the face.

“You fucking asshole! What the hell were you thinking!” her eyes were already tearing up.

Jake rubbed his cheek and chuckled. “You know, that’s exactly what Paul did.”

“He was right to!” she shouted, and went in for another hug.

“Yeah, probably.” he wrapped his bare arms around her.

“Fucking garbage piece of shit, you scared me so fucking much.”

“Hey, you’re no saint either.”

She gave him a look.

“I sensed it, in the mountains. Carlisle told me you hit your head?”

She blushed. “It was a tiny bump.”

“Yeah, that’s why there’s a big ass bandage on it.” he gave the gauze a poke.

“Ow, stop it.” she lowered his hand, and linked their fingers.

They stared into each others eyes, and Bella felt she could finally breathe.

He was here, he was joking, he was okay.

Jake was okay.

She let out a deep breath and leaned her forehead against his.

“No more risking your life. I can’t- you can’t die, okay?”

“I’m not going to apologize for saving Leah.”

Bella scowled.

“But I will apologize for scaring you.”

“Good. You should.”

She moved to lean in, when a chair squeaked.

Embarrassed, she pulled away.

Jared hit Collin in the back of the head. “Way to go, dipshit.”

Jake cleared his throat. “Uh, maybe we should go? Somewhere?”

Bella nodded.

They walked out to the garage, and Jake rolled out Samantha.

“Wanna give it another go?”

Bella smiled. “We still haven’t taken our lessons.”

“Yeah, but we know the basics.” he smirked.

They got on, and just drove for a bit.

He offered to let her drive, but she couldn’t focus enough to. She just wanted to hold him, and know he was okay.

They came across a stretch of beach, and pulled over to sit in the sand.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked after a beat of silence.

Bella sighed. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. In shock, kind of. The day was going pretty shitty before you- before you got hurt. So I’ve kinda got a lot to process.”

“Wanna tell me about it?”

Bella recounted her encounter with the two vampires, and the death of the little girl.

“It was just fucked up, you know? Like, how could they do that to a kid? And the Cullen's just let it happen.”

“That’s really shitty, Bella. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, me too.”

They watched the waves crash against the shore.

“Hey, so, I was pretty high off morphine and pain, last night, but, uh did you call me… baby?”

Her face went cherry red. “No. No I did not.”

“Because, I wouldn’t be mad if you did.” he looked away bashfully.

She choked. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” he scratched his head. “I… I actually really like it.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Yeah.”

Bella coughed into her arm. “It would be kind of weird, calling someone I’m not dating baby, though.”

His face darkened. “Oh, fuck, yeah, I’m sorry, you’re right, that would be, fuck, forget me I’m-”

Bella cut him off with a kiss.

On the lips.

Like a bitch.

He melted into it.

When she pulled away, his blush had only intensified.

“So, uh,” his voice cracked. “Are we dating? Now?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m ready. Like, a lot of shit just went down, but it confirmed what I already knew.”

“And what’s that?”

She kissed him again.

“That I love you.”


	9. sorry Alice ;(

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is it folks! last chapter. I was honestly freaking out at it having such few chapters, but i realized the word count is almost the same as the first so it's all good
> 
> Also! thank you to everyone who commented! i am very needy and appreciated every single one of them

She decided to take a Charlie day. Just a day where she and her dad could relax, spend some time together.

When he asked what they were going to do, Bella shrugged.

“You choose.”

He chose fishing.

The stillness of the lake and the casual silence was exactly what Bella needed. It let her take a step back, and breathe. Bella had been fishing many times before as a child, and while she hadn’t enjoyed it then, she definitely did now.

The sky, unsurprisingly, was grey, and the water was a dark green. She sat alongside her father in a small motor boat, and let herself go.

Charlie was content with not speaking most of the time, but she could tell he had something on his mind.

“What’s up, dad?”

He rubbed his mustache. “I’ve just been thinking, you know. About the Cullen's.”

She arched a brow. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” he set his pole down. “Look, you know I like Carlisle, and Alice seems very nice, but, well, you seem to get hurt a lot when you spend time with them.”

Bella absently rubbed her forehead, where a small bandage remained.

“I mean, I guess. I’m not sure it’s fair to blame them, though. I’m pretty accident prone.”

“I know, but,” he sighed, “Bells, this is the second time you’ve ended up in the hospital because of them. That- I don’t know. That worries me.”

She stretched her legs out. “I know, dad. And I’m sorry I worry you so much. But, I don’t think I’ll be doing anything else with them that involves falling out windows, or down mountains.”

She meant that, because if they dragged her into another damn vampire scandal, she was going to have a fit.

“Besides, we’re not on the best terms, right now.”

“Why, what happened?” Charlie leaned forward.

Bella tugged at a strand of hair. “Just- we had a fight. While we were camping. There was- there was a baby bunny. And they let a fox eat it, even though they could have saved it.”

The girls name had been Bree. She was fourteen when she was turned. She had a mom, and brother, who had no idea what had happened to her.

Keeping the army from Bella, that had been one thing. That had been a misguided attempt to keep her safe.

But this? This was too much. Bree was a child, and they let her die.

She didn’t think she could forgive that.

“I don’t think I understand.” Charlie admitted.

Bella released a breath. “It was just a baby, dad. And they didn’t care. Didn’t even react. They just stood and watched. That’s cold. Really cold.”

“But… Carlisle’s a doctor. I’m sure he cares about life.”

She scoffed. “Guess only certain lives.”

“He would never do that to an actual baby, Bell.”

She scrunched her eyes tight. If only he knew.

“I’m sorry, it’s just- can we not talk about it? I just want some father daughter bonding.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” he picked his pole back up. “Want to invite the Black’s over for supper?”

Bella smiled, thinking of her boyfriend. 

Boyfriend. Jake was her boyfriend.

“If you don’t mind having guests on our day.”

“Nah, you know me. I can only come up with so much on my own before someone else has to intervene.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I’m the same. Thanks for passing that down.”

“Hey, that’s why we have friends.” he elbowed her.

“You? You have friends?”

He almost pouted. “Yeah. Billy.”

“So.. that means I have more friends than you?”

“What? Since when?”

“Uh, since Alice, Quill, Embry, Paul, Jared, Cera, and probably soon, Collin and Brady.”

Charlie scowled. “Show off.”

Bella laughed, and turned her attention to her own pole, which was tugging at her hand.

In the end they caught five fish, and decided to cook them for supper.

“It’s important to demonstrate your ability to provide for your partner.” Charlie advised wisely.

Bella blushed. “Why did I ever tell you we were dating.”

He smiled sweetly and went back to filleting the fish.

The doorbell rang, and she ran to get it.

“Jake!” she beamed.

“Hey, Bell!” he scooped her into a hug, and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips.

Billy coughed behind his son.

“Yeah, yeah.” Jake waved him off.

She led him into the living room by the hand.

“Billy’s here to help you now, Jake and I are going to hang out in the living room.” she called to her father.

“That’s not providing for you partner, Bella! You’re shaping up to be a terrible wife!”

Her cheeks darkened.

“Dad, come on!”

“No, Bell, you come on! Everyone helps out.”

She groaned, but Jake led her to the kitchen.

“We all have to prove we’re good wives.” Charlie announced.

“I hate you.” she snapped at the same time Jake said “I love you.”

Bella glared at Jacob.

He grinned back.

The teens were told to chop potatoes for mash while the adults cooked the fish.

Bella grumbled quietly as she continuously cut herself with the potato peeler.

“So clumsy, Bella Bella.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He was doing a much better job than her, and she took it as a personal attack.

“How are you a better wife than me?”

He jerked his shoulder. “Guess I’m just more talented at it.”

“Asshole.”

“Language.” the men chimed.

“You called the ref a fuckwad last night!” Bella defended herself.

“That was a necessary exception.”

“Everyone in this fucking house is out to get me.” Bella growled.

Jake leaned over and kissed her cheek. “It’s out of love, Bella Bella.”

“Mhm.” she went to chop a spud, and sliced an extra large gash on her hand.

“Son of a bitch!” she hissed, holding it to stop the bleeding. “Jake, can you get me a towel?”

“Right away, Bella Bella.” he leapt from his chair and snagged a hand towel from the stove.

“I’ll get band-aids.” Charlie weaved his way out of the crowded kitchen towards the bathroom.

She inhaled sharply as the cut really began to sting.

“This is what you get when you give me a knife. Bloody mashed potatoes.”

Jake pressed the towel to it, gently sopping up the blood.

“You need to be more careful, Bella Bella.”

She huffed. “Says the man who broke almost all the bones on the right side of his body.”

He pouted. “No fair. I was saving someone. You were cutting vegetables.”

“Potato potatoh.” she waved her free hand airily.

He breathed a laugh, and turned his attention back to her cut.

“You know, it’s nice having someone tend to my wounds that doesn’t obviously want to suck my blood.”

“Bella I swear, befriending vampires was the biggest mistake of your life.”

“Maybe.” she hummed. “But it’s how we got close.”

He blushed. “I’m sure it would have happened anyways.”

“I hope so.”

His blush deepened. “Shut up.”

“No fucking band aids in the whole goddamn house, your clumsy ass must have used them all.” Charlie ranted as he threw on a coat. “Billy get in the car, we’re buying medical supplies. And toothpaste. And maybe some bread.”

“Dying, over here.”

“But most importantly band aids.”

Billy shook his head with a smile. “This family is a disaster.”

“We’re better than her mother.” he gave Bella a nod. “Be back soon.”

Bella waved.

The door slammed shut, and the teens were left at the table with a bloody dishtowel.

“So, uh, are we just going to wait for you to bleed out?”

“Guess so.”

“Nice.” Jake swung his legs.

Bella idly trailed her finger across the table top, before she realized she was spreading blood everywhere.

Her mouth twisted. “Hey, Jake, can you pass me some paper towels? I made a mess.”

No answer.

“Jake, you good?” she waved her hand in front of his face.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking.” he got up to fetch her what she needed.

“About what?”

He inhaled deeply.

“Well, uh,” he slowly wiped up the mess. “What happens now?”

“What?” Bella scrunched her brow.

“You know. Victoria and her army are gone. The Cullen’s are probably going to leave again now that they know you’re safe. So, why are we even here? Us werewolves, I mean.”

“Oh.” she cupped her mouth. “That’s a good question.”

“Like, what was the point of Quill changing, or Brady and Collin? There’s nothing for them to fight. Now they have to live with this wolf side, and there’s no reason for it. I mean, there’s a reason we’re the first generation in forever to shift. There’s not many vampires in the area.”

“Maybe the vampire drama isn’t over?”

He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re right. It’s weird they shifted. So, maybe it’s in preparation for later?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Do our wolf sides even have that much foresight?”

“Alice does.” Bella pointed out. “It’s possible, in a weird kinda way.”

“Guess so.” he slumped into his palm. “I just- I don’t want them to suffer for nothing. I don’t want Quill to suffer for nothing.”

“He won’t, Jake.” she placed her hand on his. “Promise.”

He hesitated, then smiled. “Thanks, Bella Bella.”

“Anytime.”

 

Bella knew she had to talk to the Cullen’s. Find out what was going on with them, what their plan was.

Grimly, she realized the only one she really wanted to talk to was Edward. She was still damn pissed they’d let the little girl die, but he’d surprised her when he’d showed concern over Jacob.

She wanted to find out what that was about.

She pulled up to their fabulous house, and sat in the driveway for a few moments.

She knew they could all smell her, so she couldn’t really call what she was doing hiding.

She was just gathering her wits.

With a sigh, she opened the car door, and jumped onto the gravel. Unprepared for the unevenness, she slipped.

Luckily, maybe, someone caught her.

“Thanks, Edward.” she dusted herself off.

“How did you know it was me?” he closed the door to her truck.

“Who else would it be but my local vampire stalker?”

“If you’re talking about the gifts, I thought they were cute.”

“I did not.”

They walked towards the house together.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Alice didn’t tell you?” Bella kicked a rock.

The vampire shook his head. “She’s been avoiding looking at your future. Said she wanted to give you some privacy.”

Oh.

“That was… nice of her.”

He nodded. “I certainly thought so.”

They reached the door. He moved to open it, but she grabbed his wrist.

“One question, before we go in.”

He raised his brow.

“Why… what was that about? With Jake. I thought you would have been happy that he was hurt.”

Edward rubbed his brow. “Look, Bella. I know I came across as too aggressive when we first returned from Italy. And if I’m being honest, all those feelings are still there. But, I’m trying to switch my thinking from ‘you have to be happy with me’ to ‘you have to be happy’. Since Jacob makes you happy, I want him to be safe.”

She blinked in surprise. “That’s- that’s very mature of you, Edward.”

He grimaced. “Yes, well, I am over a hundred years old. Some form of maturity should come from it.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve had hour long discussions with my friend about that very idea.”

She and Quill both agreed someone so old should at least know to respect basic boundaries.

“I’m sure you have.” he quirked a smile at her, and opened the door.

The Cullen’s were all gathered in the living room, and she scowled when she realized that they had heard her entire conversation.

Damn vampires, couldn’t give her a second of privacy.

She stood in front of them all, a determined look on her face, arms crossed behind her back.

“I think you all know why I’m here.” she started. “This is about that girl, Bree. I’m going to give you all a chance to explain yourselves, though I doubt I will see your points.”

They all looked to Carlisle, who stood up.

“There was no way to keep her without starting a fight with the Volturi. She was a newborn created with the purpose of causing chaos, and she was young enough to be considered an immortal child.”

Bella turned to Edward. “A what?”

“Immortal child. It’s what we call vampires that were turned as children.” he explained. “They’re very dangerous, and outlawed. Creating one gets you killed instantly, along with the child.”

She grimaced. “So, why didn’t you tell her to run? Hide her? Keep her safe?”

“We can’t keep secrets from the Volturi, Bella. It would be suicide.” Jasper stepped in.

“Okay, okay.” she tugged at her hair. “But, you didn’t even react. That’s what’s really getting to me. You all just stood there and let it happen. You didn’t- she was a kid. And you stood by and let her die. You didn’t even try.”

Everyone was silent.

“Was it because she was a vampire? Because she was still a kid. She’d only ever be a kid. And she was so scared.” Bella whispered the last part, eyes smarting.

“Bella-” Alice reached for her, but Bella took a step back.

She sniffed, and rubbed her nose.

“So, uh, I know you all came here to clear up the Victoria drama, and so Edward and Alice could graduate. Well, you did that. So, so I think you should all go.”

“Bella, please, let’s just-” Carlisle walked towards her, and she flinched.

“Edward.”

He flashed in front of his father and forced him back.

“You should all go. Find somewhere new. Do the whole school thing again. Get new graduation caps. But don’t- don’t come back here. Ever.”

Alice’s face was tight with pain. “Bella, please, don’t do this.”

She took a shaky breath. “Goodbye, everyone. Have a good life.”

She left the house, Alice’s whimpering the only thing she heard.

She would miss Alice, and Carlisle. But she couldn’t look at them without seeing Bree’s face as she was thrown into the fire.

She couldn’t- she couldn’t forgive that. Not for a long time, at least.

Who knows. Maybe she’d see them again, and things would be better.

Maybe this was the last time she’d ever see their faces.

Either way, Bella found she was at peace.

Her dad was okay, Jake was okay and her boyfriend, Edward had basically apologized, and she had a clear future in the flower shop.

Things were going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: this will be about Charlie  
> Charlie: gets two seconds of screen time, all plot related
> 
> I'm sorry I promise I love him
> 
> also, uh, yeah. enjoy Edward getting forgiven. idk I started this fic out with the intention of making him a main villain, literally put a stalker tag because that's what he was going to be, but I couldnt. i don't know why. he was creepy as hell in the movie for this, but I guess I respect the fact he never got jealous? idk. they're not friends, but they're not on bad terms?
> 
> ALso also, i literally have an exam in an hour and instead of studying i wrote this


End file.
